A group of leading U.S. jewelry retailers have signed the Golden Rules of the “No Dirty Gold” campaign, and De Beers reported progress on sustainability issues such as conflict diamonds and black economic empowerment.
The movie, Blood Diamond (http://blooddiamondmovie.warnerbros.com) helped raise concerns about how these minerals are mined.
This week, the No Dirty Gold campaign coordinated by Oxfam America and Earthworks announced a major breakthrough that makes jewelry made with “cleaner” (more socially and environmentally responsible) gold available. Of the top ten US jewelry retailers, seven–including Wal-Mart and QVC–have signed onto the Golden Rules criteria for more socially and environmentally responsible mining. However, highly visible retailer Target remains a laggard in declining to sign on.
Also this week, diamond company De Beers released its Report to Stakeholders, covering for the first time its sustainability practices on issues such as conflict diamonds, HIV/AIDS, human rights, indigenous peoples, and climate change. The report follows the new Global Reporting Initiative G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, as well as summarizes progress with respect to both the UN Global Compact and the UN Millennium Development Goals. De Beers also announced an agreement with the South Africa Department of Minerals and Energy to spin off its Namaqualand Mines into an independent diamond mining company, after community consultation. The new company seeks to enact black economic empowerment and promote a sustainable diamond mining industry in South Africa.
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