In early June, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) hosted a panel discussion at the JCK Las Vegas Show on responsibility and trust in the jewellery supply chain, with participants stressing the need for integration of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the supply chain strategy of every company in the industry.

The panel comprised Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director at RJC; Raj Metha, Director at Rosy Blue NV; Erik Jens, CEO at LuxuryFintech.com; Gina Drosos, CEO at Signet Jewelers; Jeff Corey, Owner at Day’s Jewelers; Feriel Zerouki, Senior Vice President at De Beers Group and Shekhar Shah, Director at Real Gems.

David Bouffard, RJC Chair, opened the session and welcomed all panellists and attendees. The discussion was moderated by Brandee Dallow, RJC's Business Development Lead in North America.

A summary of the main points that emerged from the session was recently released by RJC.

They key highlights:

The RJC’s mission has never been more relevant. Consumers have a choice. Trust and transparency are the new equity. Product integrity and disclosure across the value chain to protect consumer confidence are most important. When a consumer walks in a store or buys online, he or she expect brands to be sustainable. RJC membership can support companies in building sustainability practices in their operations. It is a journey of continuous improvement.

Integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into supply chain strategy is the way forward. Every jeweller needs to ask whether the SDGs are being integrated into the business strategy, and which of them are the main focus (materiality exercise) for business. Companies also need to be aware of the challenges of incorporating the SDGs into business strategy, the level of communication and measurement on SDG impacts.

Opportunity will come for those companies that act responsibly. RJC members play a key role in advancing the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These opportunities range from having a safe working environment (SDG3), promoting gender equality in the workplace (SDG5), decent work and economic growth (SDG8) and developing circular economy models (SDG9).

The industry now more than ever needs inclusive leadership. Big companies and small enterprises must show top-level commitment and accountability to understand and assess their impacts, engage in meaningful dialogue, and to innovate their business models to develop communities on the ground. And companies need to measure - what is material to their organisation and how do they quantify progress.

Partnerships (SDG17) will achieve transformative change. The panel session closed with all panellists agreeing not to reinvent the wheel and duplicate efforts. All players must co-invest in solutions to shared challenges. This means they need to work more than ever together to align efforts. This is where progress will depend – on synergies and collective action taken on the ground.

Sustainability drives financial and operational performance. Companies are realising significant cost savings through retention employees, improved health and safety conditions and environmental sustainability, related operational efficiencies and access to finance. Moreover, investors are more and more now able to track the high performers on ESG (environmental, social and governance factors) and are correlating better financial performance with better ESG performance.

Pic caption: The panellists (l-r) -  Iris Van der Veken, Raj Metha, Erik Jens, Gina Drosos, Jeff Corey, Feriel Zerouki, Shekhar Shah and Brandee Dallow

Pic courtesy: RJC