Image credit: De Beers Group (Facebook)
The goals are part of De Beers’ Building Forever framework – a sustainability approach embedded in the business’ commercial strategy and focused on maximising the positive impact of diamonds on their journey from discovery to retail.
“People have always been able to give and wear our diamonds with pride, and by announcing our 12 Building Forever goals and sharing our progress along the journey, they can have a deeper connection to the active role their De Beers Jewellers or Forevermark diamond has played in protecting the natural world and improving people’s lives,” said De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver.
The Anglo American unit said it would provide the origin and impact of every diamond it discovers and sells as well as extend its Best Practice Principles (a set of leading ethical, social and environmental standards) beyond its value chain to advance industry standards.
De Beers has been tracking high-value diamonds from miner to retailer using blockchain technology to keep the supply chain free from conflict minerals.
The group also said that it would be carbon neutral across its operations, reduce its water footprint by 50% and achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity by 2030.
De Beers’ CarbonVault initiative had been trying to capture carbon from the atmosphere and lock it away in kimberlite.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
