Many consumers buying jewellery today are concerned that it should meet ethical standards, that its raw materials should not fund wars; that their extraction should not harm the environment and that indigenous peoples and workforces should not be exploited. The global jewellery industry has done much over recent years to address these concerns and there are many initiatives in place to regulate mining, improve best practice and give back to the communities in those countries where gold and diamonds are mined. The diamond industry alone employs 10 million people globally and income from gold and diamonds makes a real difference to the developing world by providing jobs, roads, healthcare and education.
BJA Code of Ethics Members of the British Jewellers’ Association are all required to abide by the Association’s own Code of Ethics and any member found to be falling short of the standards this sets may be eligible for expulsion from the Association. A copy of the Code is available from here. The code is focused on sound business ethics. The BJA unicorn logo (see below) – which may only be used by members – is your assurance that BJA will investigate any complaint that a member has not complied with the Code of Ethics.
Conflict Diamonds The term ‘conflict’ or ‘blood’ diamonds, as they are sometimes called, refers to alluvial diamonds found in various parts of Africa which were illegally exploited during the 1990s to fund rebel militias in a series of wars in which many people died. The countries in which conflict diamonds have been a problem are Angola, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Guinea. The situation has been dramatically improved by the introduction in 2003 of the Kimberley Process. This global system is backed by governments, the UN and various NGOs. It effectively manages and certifies the international trade in ‘rough’ diamonds. ‘Rough’ is the term used to describe diamonds as they come out of the ground before they have been cut and polished. The Kimberley Process is now law in all EU countries and in around 40 other countries worldwide and is undoubtedly working to regulate the flow of rough diamonds and to exclude conflict diamonds from the supply chain. The Kimberley Process is supported by a code of conduct introduced by the World Diamond Council which requires traders in cut and polished diamonds to warrant that the diamonds have come from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations resolutions. Sellers guarantee that their diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of the diamonds.
The BJA has adopted the World Diamond Council Code of Conduct and issues detailed advice to its members on compliance.
Diamond Development Initiative To further assist artisanal diamond diggers in some of the former conflict areas the jewellery industry has established the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) – a collaboration between many of the major diamond mines, the NGOs and major players in the jewellery industry to address the political, social and economic problems that face communities in artisanal diamond production regions.
The Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices The CRJP is a London based international trade association, launched in 2005 to create a framework of agreed ethical standards relating to environmental and social impacts as well as business ethics, against which mining companies, jewellery producers and retailers will be able to self assess their performance and then undergo a system of continuous improvement supported by third party auditing. Companies who can meet these performance standards will be able to describe themselves as CRJP certified. The BJA is a member of CRJP and the BJA Chief Executive serves on its Standards Committee.
More information about CRJP can be found at www.responsiblejewellery.com.
The Madison Dialogue The Madison Dialogue is a cross-sector initiative launched in New York in 2006 to promote communication and collaboration among companies, civil society groups and others seeking to encourage best practice in the mining industries. Participants in the Madison Dialogue are working on a number of initiatives to promote sustainable development, best practice, and certification or assurance in the sector. These include the Kimberley Process, the Diamond Development Initiative, the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, and efforts to certify fair-trade gold, diamonds and other minerals.
More information can be found at www.madisondialogue.org
