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Integrating different standards in the Diamond and Jewellery Industry to create a community of confidence across the Supply Chain including gold.
BACKGROUND
One of the main challenges for companies is to provide responsible leadership in times of significant change throughout the supply chain. Rosy Blue acknowledges the key role that mining companies such as De Beers, Rio Tinto and BHP play in promoting good CSR practices.
As DTC Sightholder, we are engaged in contributing to an ethical supply chain. Since 2005 we adhered to the De Beers Best Practice Principles. This was an important milestone as we used this supplier initiative to create our internal CSR model and prepare ourselves to embed CSR in our business strategy.
Since 2009 we have mainly focused on the preparation for certification for the Responsible Jewellery Council (Rosy Blue is founding member since 2005). The aim of RJC is to provide the industry with one CSR standard which is applicable to the entire diamond and gold Industry. Through RJC we intend to integrate all the different current CSR standards implemented at Rosy Blue under the umbrella of the UN Global Compact Principles. For RJC we participated in a pilot project in India and Dubai in order to establish our current position and prepare for RJC Certification in collaboration with De Beers and SGS.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RJC PILOT PROJECT
The pilot is being used as a learning tool to understand the new global requirements of the RJC. The project covered aspects from manufacturing to trading.
OBJECTIVES
- To become a certified member of the RJC (to clearly understand where Rosy Blue positions itself towards the new industry standard and how to adopt the CSR strategy to be ready for certification)
- To understand and highlight the substantive and procedural differences between the BPP and RJC systems
- To integrate the current standards within one system = to align our current CSR model to RJC (adjusting policies, procedures and training accordingly)
- To integrate the results in changes in policy and process implementation across the supply chain
- To avoid duplication of auditing and maintain the level of compliance
- To contribute to a circle of trust from mining to retail
KEY MILESTONES IN THE PROJECT
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OUTCOMEDuring the pilot verification visits, the opportunity was taken to broaden the discussions to cover activities undertaken at other locations so as to broaden as far as possible the implementation of the RJC requirements. The visits were undertaken to test the way the requirements had been implemented in different types of operation and to evaluate the level of information, internal processes and control mechanisms available rather than as pure verification visits. It was an excellent learning experience to receive feedback on all the different topics and understand the potential interpretation of RJC questions and ratings. The results of this pilot project were shared with the Group Partners and the compliance team as a learning exercise how to continuously improve our internal CSR model and align the current CSR practices with the RJC standard. Rosy Blue will apply for certification by 2011.51 STEPS TAKEN BY ROSYBLUE
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STEPS TO CERTIFICATION
LESSONS LEARNED
We are all responsible for our actions!
All players from mining to retail including the gold chain therefore are dependent on the proper understanding of the issues surrounding CSR and the supply chain within each economy, and on the willingness of government and industry participants to voluntarily work towards complete adherence to widely accepted standards such as the BPP and going forward the RJC.
Implementing standards takes time! It is an ongoing process!
We are striving for continuous improvement, and we want to achieve a feedback-controlled management cycle that not only keeps the implementation alive but also constantly renews itself by listening to the feedback of all our stakeholders.
The main challenge for the Rosy Blue compliance team is to improve our reporting system in CSR data management. All levels of management top down and bottom up are charged with bringing standards to life: walk the talk! This is a process that takes time.
Managing the contractors in the diamond industry will be a major challenge: step by step we all need to prepare a roadmap to compliance!
Rosy Blue has had its first audit of a majority contractor in 2009. All players throughout the supply chain need to take steps to ensure that the contractors conduct themselves in a socially responsible manner. We need to help them understand the importance and prepare toolkits to implement CSR practices within their organization. Big businesses should inspire smaller businesses and their supply chains to measure their own CSR performance.
Clear communication and training is essential to make the project a success.
Many different topics from human rights to product integrity, need to be explained and understood. It is critical to identify which topics need more information and communication. The toolkits need to be simplified and adjusted to the different environments (production, sales offices, jewelry store…). The messages should be consistent and focus on the priorities of each target audience of the supply chain. But overall everyone needs to understand the bigger picture of a circle of trust from mining to retail and each one’s responsibility and accountability within that supply chain.
There is a huge opportunity for companies to develop ethical brands that consumers can trust!
Transparency and dialogue can help to make a business more trustworthy and enhance the standards of other organizations at the same time. We believe in growth for CSR in our Industry: companies will increasingly evolve to see CSR as a responsibility rather than a burden. If you see how RJC that is a member of UN Global Compact has evolved from 80 members in 2009 to over 225 in 2010, the message is clear: we are all committed to go forward!
We can jointly contribute to a solution by continuing to work together, enacting laws domestically and implementing and enforcing codes internationally that will ensure that those employing unfair CSR practices are penalized while those employing fair practices are rewarded. We can also encourage others to do so and contribute to international initiatives in meaningful and effective ways. In the end, all of the players from mining to retail including the gold chain need to confront and correct questionable business practices. Only then will the benefit be felt by those who need it most.
- Reinforce consumer confidence in the jewellery supply chain by advancing and sharing responsible business practices throughout the industry in preparation for application to RJC Certification.
- Close cooperation with key supplier De Beers on compliance learning exercise
- More focused involvement from the local compliance officers with extra parameters in reporting as a result of the pilot project
- Adjusted and revised CSR strategy in preparation for RJC certification
- More focus on integration of all the current standards to avoid duplication and to contribute to more efficient CSR best practices
- Shared practices with the industry and other key stakeholders
- Participation in a local supply chain management Workgroup in Belgium across industries where best practices are shared52. Interesting to know is that we used the BSR/UN Global Compact Supply Chain Sustainability Guidance Draft to explain and share practices across the different industries; we also presented the RJC system to discuss with other CSR Executives in Belgium.