Last week, De Beers announced their ‘Building Forever’ blueprint for creating a positive and sustainable impact that will endure well beyond the discovery of their last diamond.

Challenging to do better and go further by setting 12 ambitious goals to achieve by 2030. Concentrating on four clear pillars that can make a meaningful impact – leading ethical practices, partnering for thriving communities, protecting the natural world, and accelerating equal opportunity. It’s not just vitally important to De Beers themselves, but also their employees, partners, and communities across all facets of their operations.

Setting out these clear pathways to achieving these goals will measure the company’s progress along the way, with the help of collaborating with key partners, investing in innovation and technology, and assessing against performance metrics.
 

Leading Ethical Practices across Industry

De Beers continue to work tirelessly to advance industry standards, enhance the transparency of the diamond provenance and improve the livelihoods of artisanal miners. In 2005, the company launched the Best Practice Principles (BBPs) which in turn raised the bar for ethical, social and environmental standards in the diamond industry. The BPPs were seen as a radical move when first launched, now it’s time to delve much further. During the next 10 years, De Beers will regularly evolve the BPPs to keep pace with the highest international standards across all areas of business, social and environmental impact.

Providing transparency and provenance enables their customers to connect the diamond they buy to the positive impact it has had on the world. De Beers will provide the origin and impact of every diamond they discover and sell, enabling people to wear their diamond with pride, knowing it has been sourced ethically and has had a positive impact on the place where it originated.

Hand-in-hand with GemFair, which was launched in 2018, and already had an immense impact on the SAM (artisanal and small-scale mining) sector. While De Beers do not operate mines within this sector, they believe to in supporting ethical practices across the whole diamond mining industry, enabling them to deliver scable solutions to improve the livelihood of artisanal miners.

By 2030 they will:
1.    Extend Best Practice Principles beyond the value chain to advance industry standards
2.    Provide the origin and impact of every diamond we discover and sell
3.    Deliver scalable solutions to improve the livelihoods of artisanal miners

 

Partnering for Thriving Communities

Diamonds are a finite resource that is inextricably linked to the health and prosperity of the communities around the operations. De Beers role is to work with partners to transform the finite resource below ground into infinitive opportunities above ground. By setting ambitious targets in the sector for health, education and livelihoods within the communities.

Working closely with and supporting country partners to invest in the health of their communities. By 2030, the aim is to achieve priority UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 (SDG3) health targets in all partner communities. Working alongside the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine (LSHTM) and local partners to establish baselines and identify priority issues around all operations.

Additionally, establishing skills partnerships in all host communities, helping develop the capabilities within those communities to support future economic activity, and all schools in their host communities in southern Africa will be in the top 20% of state schools nationally.

By 2030 they will:
1. Achieve priority SDG3 health targets in all partner communities
2. Establish skills partnerships in all partner communities
3. Have supported four jobs across partner countries for every one job at their operations

 

Protecting the Natural World

De Beers aim to be carbon neutral, minimise their water footprint and deliver a net positive impact on biodiversity. De Beers stated they are acutely aware that some of the areas in which they operate are particularly at risk from the effects of climate change and introducing innovative technology to make operations more energy efficient. By partnering with key groups that have the expertise to help guide our vision to protect the natural world.

The company will work with our majority shareholder Anglo American on cutting-edge technology to help reach this goal. Reducing energy use via the pioneering FutureSmart Mining programme, which supports greater efficiency and a lower environmental footprint; replacing nearly all fossil electricity by building new wind and solar power plants; and recover remaining emissions through their own nature-based solutions, including a groundbreaking research programme, CarbonVault. This in turn will unlock the carbon-capture properties of the unique rocks that first carried diamonds to the earth’s surface millions of years ago.

That’s not all, the plan is also to build on leading conservation work to deliver a net positive impact on biodiversity. The company’s diamond route is 500,000-acre secure ecosystems for Africa’s most vulnerable species and amounts to six times the total land used for mining. Continuing to build on the success in protecting ecosystems and wildlife through working with partners, including Peace Parks Foundation, with whom have partnered on this pioneering Moving Giants initiative, the longest and largest elephant translocation ever attempted to save 200 elephants and two ecosystems.

By 2030 they will:
1. Be carbon neutral across operations
2. Reduce water footprint by 50%
3. Achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity
 

Accelerating Equal Opportunity

Accelerating economic inclusion and support diverse voices to help shape the future of their business, communities, and society. De Beers has said they are committed to their own continuous evolution and to inspire change in others across the diamond industry. By ‘Building Forever', they are laying foundations of diversity and bringing wider perspectives into decision making, technical fields and design.

To make a truly lasting difference, they are supporting new talent in the diamond industry, supporting the next generation that will shape De Beers and the industry through education and inspiration. As well as addressing the historical absence of women in the talent pipeline, especially in technical roles.

Working with UN Women and WomEng as well as local governments and other partners to support women in studying STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects. By 2030, they will have engaged 10,000 young women and girls in STEM activities through their Accerlating Women-Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME) programme in partnership with UN Women. Through this programme, De Beers will have supported 10,000 female entrepreneurs across southern Africa through mentoring, networking and funding opportunities by 2030.

By 2030 they will
1.    Achieve equal opportunity, including gender parity, for employees in their workforce
2.    Support 10,000 women entrepreneurs and engage 10,000 girls in STEM
3.    Increase the diversity of creative talent in the diamond jewellery sector

To read more about these exceptional goals set by De Beers, click here.