CSR  |   Stakeholder Engagement   |   Building a Circle of Trust

Today, we see engagement with multiple stakeholders as a key enabler of both risk mitigation and innovation.

We believe that developing and refining skills of listening and sensing are critical to a company's success. Since the launch in 2009 of our first CSR Report on May 4th in Mumbai and May 8th in Antwerp we have begun to take up our engagement with the outside world to a new level.

Improved transparency and accountability are instrumental to build trust. Our stakeholders help us prioritize key issues and develop our corporate responsibility strategy. We learn a great deal from our interactions with these stakeholders. We find that constructive engagement is most often the approach that brings about the best insight to the challenges and that we all have an interest in addressing those.

Since 2009 Rosy Blue has actively been involved with a broad range of stakeholders on an ongoing basis including civil industry, government, academic institutions and focused workgroups.

We do this informally, through networks and organisations where we participate and as a structured part of our outreach strategies on issues and challenges

Our engagements with stakeholders are discussed throughout this chapter.

Stakeholder engagement is integral to global citizenship, and Rosy Blue works hard to build strong, mutually productive relationships with our diverse stakeholders.

"As the nature of trust has changed, so too has the way that companies must earn it. Companies need to be everywhere, engaging everyone."
2010 Edelman Trust Barometer Executive Summary

A STAKEHOLDER, NOT A SHAREHOLDER, WORLD

When a CEO makes business decisions for his or her company, which stakehodler should be most important to his or her decision?

MULTIPLE INFORMATION SOURCES ENHANCE CREDIBILITY

How many times in general do you need to hear something about a specific company to believe that the information is likely to be true?

Interview with Rajiv Jhaveri, Atul Jhaveri, Mayank Mheta, Rajesh Mehta, Raj Mehta

How did the financial crises impact your relationship with your customers? The economic recession of course had direct impact on all our customers, who had serious concerns aboutthe future of their business, buying power and the consumer behavior. Although many of our customers had taken already precautionary measurements, we took the time to speak to our customers and discussed issues, found balanced solutions where needed. We wanted to ensure our long term relationship. The crisis has shown us that responsible management of customer relationships based on a careful assessment of the financial capacity and proper risk analysis are essential. We definitely focused on this in 2009 and with result. How can Rosy Blue add value to a responsible supply chain? Trust is the basis. You can only build trust by actions. At Rosy Blue sustainable customer-consumer confidence is not an isolated objective. We believe it is the total sum of the individual behavior of each company or segment in the diamond pipeline. It is the total reputation of all pipeline participants. That is why we are so actively involved in the Responsible Jewellery Council and why we are applying for certification. We need to take our responsibility. We can only encourage the others to follow our example.

What are the main challenges ahead? Too often though, consumers are receiving confusing information and a great variety of industry claims make this hard. We all need to support a diamond and jewellery (including gold) industry wide strategy to help consumers make the right sustainable choices. A diamond is a beautiful and a unique product and we need to protect the reputation of our diamonds and the industry. There is a lot of competition from other product categories – we need to provide a framework of trust for the consumer to make the right choice. As discussed on the annual RJC meeting33, we need to be more positive and less defensive. We can create reputational and financial value by taking a leadership position in implementing best practices. This will lead to improved market share and consumer demand. You can only build trust by actions

What shapes your trust in a company? U.S.2006

How important are these factors to corporate reputation? U.S. 2010

Where would we be without our people? They are the ambassadors of our company.

At the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Rosy Blue Group, we have introduced the first Quarterly sparkle: an internal communication tool to update our people on what is happening inside the Rosy Blue Group.

This is only a start; our intention is to evolve to an internal newsflash with more input, suggestions and including different topics on the agenda coming from the workfloor.

We are committed to foster a workplace that is professional, safe, diverse and promotes teamwork and trust. We strive to communicate openly with our employees about what we are doing, why and how it affects them. We also seek their feedback and respond to any concerns they may have. We want to be a brand that people are proud to work for.

As the working world continues to evolve, so do the needs and aspirations of the global workforce. We will continue to create various tools to improve our internal communication network and organise initiatives that contribute to a balanced working environment.

We work to establish and maintain productive relationships with our business partners and suppliers. In 2009 we worked closely with De Beers on a pilot project of our facilities in India and Dubai, in order to establish our current position and prepare for RJC Certification. 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 trading36.

Means any natural person, legal entity or business (or any part thereof) who carries out any work on behalf of Rosy Blue in connection with the buying and/or selling, or manufacturing of diamonds or diamond jewellery, where the diamonds are owned or controlled by Rosy Blue. Our commitment is to only work with contractors that abide by our CSR standards. We do realize that this is a process to manage carefully and in a sustainable manner. We need to give guidance and help our contractors to move forward.

In 2009 two majority contractors were audited. We also sent a formal undertaking to all our minority contractors regarding a commitment to compliance.

We strive to treat our customers fairly and honestly, maintain product quality and integrity, engage in responsible marketing and consumer information practices, and address business, social and environmental issues related to our products. Part of our commitment to this group of stakeholders is to make sure that our business partners and suppliers uphold the ethical standards that we set for our own entities. This is definitely a priority for 2010 - 2011

We try to invest in meaningful community projects that serve to enhance the quality of life across the communities where we operate. We address important social issues through initiatives can move toward self-sustainability and economic growth. Establishing and maintaining trust with our local communities is something we value tremendously.

When seeking financing for our business activities, financial institutions, banks and auditors are vital. We strive for transparency and reliability in our financial reporting.

We are firmly committed to conduct business in compliance with the laws, regulatory requirements and other voluntary initiatives in the countries where we operate. We strive to work closely with governmental officials on topics that have impact on our business operations within the industry. It is essential that we maintain a continuous dialogue and that the government helps us find the right frameworks and enables all the industry players to move forward in a responsible business manner.

We engage with stakeholders from institutions that include universities, schools, social and educational organisations. The future growth and stability of our global economy depends on the ability of education systems to prepare students for career opportunities and help them attain higher levels of achievement. Rosy Blue is working with UAMS and other institutions to develop, scale, and replicate successful models that promote CSR practices for the Diamond Industry and that can contribute to improving our own practices across the Group. In 2009-2010 several guest lectures were given at Plantijn Hogeschool and the University of Ghent and Antwerp. Rosy Blue has also had its first meeting with the Danish Institute of Human Rights on the launch of their country risk portal and how Rosy Blue in India and China can share practices.

We are committed to build dialogue and to understand the priorities of our stakeholders.

We are committed to building reliable relationships with the media.