Ethics

Our commitment to meeting or exceeding ethical standards is also essential to achieving our business goals.  Meeting these standards helps maintain our social licence to operate and hence access to diamonds. It builds our reputation as a good corporate citizen and our ability to attract and retain top talent.

It underwrites consumer confidence in diamonds thereby enabling demand growth and ensuring that both the Family of Companies and our government partners in producer countries are able to derive sustained value from diamonds.

The specific emphasis of our activities to embed ethical standards in our business differs for each part of the diamond value chain. In our producer countries we focus on issues such as Kimberley Process certification, anti-corruption, human rights and security.

We work with programmes like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to ensure transparency of flows of diamond revenues.

In our distribution and marketing activities, we work with programmes such as the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices (CRJP) to drive high standards throughout the diamond industry on issues like good governance, labour standards and anti-money laundering.

We also actively support ethical initiatives that materially impact the entire diamond value chain. This includes the Kimberley Process, which has helped ensure the conflict-free status of about 99.8% of world rough diamond production.

Issues and important questions that are addressed in the Report to Society 2007:

• The Kimberley Process
• The system of warranties
• Countries recovering from conflict
• The Diamond Task Force
• Political donations
• Anti-corruption
• Anti-money laundering
• Competition laws
• Whistle blowing
• Ethical supply chain management
• Forevermark
• The Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices