Keeping our people safe
Protecting the safety of our 20,000 employees and contractors across the world has been our overriding priority. We continue to follow government and public health directives, conducting ongoing health risk assessments and putting in place stringent measures to ensure we are taking every precaution. Key to our approach has been providing regular communications with an emphasis on health and mental wellbeing support available through our Employee Assistance Programme.
Supporting our communities
Diamonds and the communities from which they come are intrinsically linked. It has therefore been imperative for our teams around the world to work alongside partner communities and government leaders to understand what and where support is needed most.
As a result, alongside the provision of food, medical supplies and water, our response has focused on three key areas within our producer countries: firstly, sourcing and donating PCR testing equipment to aid national testing, secondly, aligned with our commitment to standing with women and girls, tackling Gender-Based Violence through a $200,000 donation to support services, and thirdly supporting with the procurement and distribution of vaccines.
In total, De Beers Group and our joint venture partners have contributed $17 million through our community response efforts to date, split between national relief funds and community and logistical support. As lockdowns begin to ease, our teams continue providing support to aid the recovery of livelihoods and education.
Standing with our partners
This pandemic has presented a burden of unprecedented proportions for many of those we work with, including suppliers, diamantaires, designers, jewellery manufacturers, craftsmen, sales ambassadors and many more. Throughout it all we have been working together closely to navigate this uncharted path. For example, we’ve held a series of open online events entitled ‘Stronger Together’ to share our learnings across marketing, finance, innovation and human resources. We also made our online Institute of Diamonds education course available for free for partners to expand their diamond knowledge during lockdown. Additionally, we launched a series of monthly Diamond Insight Flash Reports to share data on consumer behaviours, attitudes and expectations as they shift throughout the course of the pandemic.
We continue to support and recognise our clients who have provided cash and in-kind donations in response to COVID-19. This has included the distribution of fresh meals to local communities made by employees who normally cut and polish diamonds. R&D and manufacturing expertise has also been provided, both to keep employees safe through AI technology to encourage social distancing, as well as to support response efforts. One client has been using their 3D printers to produce 10,000 face shields a day, and another creating a budget mobile ventilator unit. A further client has been creating ventilator splitters in China to enable one ventilator to be used by two people.
We have been truly moved by the efforts, initiatives and impacts of our clients, partners and employees throughout the pandemic. Find out more about how we are pulling together in the latest news below.
Initiatives in our partner countries: