For the first time in its 95-year history, CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has launched its annual Congress online rather than in a physical location, with an Opening Ceremony followed by a session of the CIBJO Responsible Sourcing Commission, during which a strong emphasis was placed on the jewellery industry\u2019s obligations to society and the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The period of the coronavirus has proven to be an inflection point for the industry, the CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri stated. For an organisation like CIBJO, he stated, which brings together jewellery, gemstone and watch associations and companies from around the world, the adoption of online and digital technologies led to a period of increased activity, and a level of productivity and achievement that most probably is greater than at any time in the organisation\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Responsible Sourcing Commission\u2019s session was moderated by the body\u2019s President, Philip Olden, who asked his panel of guests if enough was being done by the industry on the subject of responsible sourcing, and if not what else should be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opening the session, Mr. Olden mentioned that CIBJO\u2019s Responsible Sourcing Commission\u2019s Blue Book was the most downloaded of all such documents since the start of the pandemic, and reported that in April 2021 CIBJO launched an online Responsible Sourcing Toolkit, \u201cwhich will enable members of the industry to do due diligence on their supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the panellists was Lila Karbassi, Chief of Programmes at the UN Global Compact. \u201cSee if your targets align with science. By 2030 you need to reduce emissions by almost half, and by 2050 significantly more. We look forward to validating company results, and we hope many firms from the jewellery industry will join us and create a momentum for the industry overall to be on track regarding climate change,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Panellist Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director of the Responsible Jewellery Council, described the jewellery industry as being at a \u201ctipping point\u201d. \u201cWe have to get everyone on this journey. How do we bring all members of the supply chain along? This is the challenge. We need to step up a gear and show collectively the good impact of the business,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Panellist Mark Hanna, Chief Marketing Officer at the Richline Group, which is part of Warren Buffet\u2019s Berkshire Hathaway corporation, said that today, more than ever before, \u201cwe need to pay attention to the 3Cs: climate, carbon and circularity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll firms should have a social purpose,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need a strong and planned way of dealing with this. Harmonization is critical and I believe there is a will across the industry to work together, so that both large and small firms can share information.\u201d Hannah said that the use of recycled materials is important to the issue of sustainability. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing more recyclable than gold but any product that reduces waste and uses ecologically friendly materials is good for the world and the industry,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the first time in its 95-year history, CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has launched its annual Congress online rather than in a physical location, with an Opening Ceremony followed by a session of the CIBJO Responsible Sourcing Commission, during which a strong emphasis was placed on the jewellery industry\u2019s obligations to society and the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-12491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bulletin"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n