CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, and the Coloured Gemstone Working Group (CGWG) facilitated by The Dragonfly Initiative (TDI) announced a new collaboration to strengthen and disseminate tools and resources for the responsible sourcing of coloured gemstones, to support a transparent, sustainable and vibrant coloured gemstone industry. It is intended that the tools and resources being developed will also be applicable, where possible, in other sectors of the wider jewellery industry.
The two organisations are planning to make a suite of tools and resources downloadable free of charge from an online platform. The objective is that they will support any company, irrespective of its size, geographic location or financial capacity, in conducting due diligence of their supply chains.
The CGWG comprises Tiffany & Co., Swarovski, Richemont, Muzo Companies, LVMH, Kering, and Gemfields and has been facilitated by The Dragonfly Initiative since 2015. TDI is an advisory firm established to support businesses in precious metals, gemstones and raw materials’ value chains to work collaboratively, and for mutual benefit, to realise an environmentally, economically and socially responsible system of connected enterprises.
Coloured gemstones are unique, as are the businesses and people who work to recover, cut, polish and manufacture the jewellery in which they are set. It is imperative that, as standards of corporate accountability, labour practices, environmental protection and good governance across the
industry are raised, they are done so while protecting the traditions, crafts and livelihoods of all who work in and depend on it.
On April 23rd 2019, against the backdrop of the OECD Responsible Minerals Forum in Paris, CIBJO and the CGWG signed a Memorandum of Understanding, according to which they committed to jointly developing management tools and resources that will help businesses of all sizes and activities in the industry implement best practices for responsible sourcing. The objectives of the joint cooperation include:
• Mutual support in the development and implementation of CIBJO’s Responsible Sourcing Blue Book;
• Development and publication of a practical “toolkit” that will help small companies with their implementation of the guidance in the CIBJO Blue Book through a dedicated online resource platform hosted and managed by TDI; and
• Development of educational and promotional programmes for the CIBJO Blue Book and the toolkit, aimed at informing stakeholders about the CIBJO Blue Book.
Speaking at the signing of the MoU, Cavalieri commented, “What we are accomplishing through this agreement goes beyond making declarative statements about the need to practise responsible sourcing; it also provides members of our industry, and especially the many small and medium-sized companies of which we are predominantly comprised, practical means of getting the job done. We have long contended that supply chain integrity should not become an artificial barrier of entry into the business, and that support must be extended to all ethical players. That is exactly what we will be doing.”
Dr. Assheton Stewart Carter, CEO of The Dragonfly Initiative and representing the brands and mining companies of the CGWG, said: “The responsible sourcing movement is a powerful force that has the potential to bring transformative change and improve the lives of many people deep in the coloured gemstone supply chain. The objective must be to democratise sustainability, so it is accessible to even the smallest businesses and individual crafts people. To have a truly sustainable footprint, industry collaboration is the only way forward.”
Caption: Dr. Assheton Stewart Carter (left), CEO of The Dragonfly Initiative, which facilitates the Coloured Gemstone Working Group, and Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO, signing the MOU committing to the joint development of tools enabling companies implement best practice principles for responsible sourcing.