De Beers released the 2011 Report to Society today, in which Nicky Oppenheimer, Chairman, summarized the efforts of the company and its contributions towards the cause of beneficiation. He said, “At De Beers there has always been a clear recognition that, while our primary purpose as a business shapes what it is that we do, it is how we work that defines who we are.” The term - ‘living up to diamonds’ - embodies the company’s commitment to operate in a manner that reflects the very qualities of the product we mine and sell. Necessary for both supporting consumer confidence in diamonds, and the long-term licence to operate that diamond mining requires, operating responsibly is at the core of De Beers’ approach to business.
The Report accounted the contrinutions made by the De Beers Family of Companies in creating value and supporting sustainable development in the countries in which it operates.
Highlights of the Report include:
- Although the prices of rough diamonds increased 29 percent over the course of 2011, the Family of Companies was able to increase payments to stakeholders around the world to US$6.4 billion (2010: US$5.0 billion). Of this, US$4.4 billion was paid to stakeholders in Africa (2010: US$3.33 billion)
There was an increase in the value of rough diamonds supplies to Sightholders for manufacture in southern Africa - US$1.12 billion- (2010: US$1.2 billion). Since the beneficiation programme of the Family of Companies was formalised in 2007, over US$5.3 billion in rough diamonds have been sold to Sightholders in producer countries, supporting the development of sustainable local manufacturing industries.
- Excluding De Beers employees, more than 300,000 diamond sector employees around the world were covered by the De Beers Best Practice Principles Assurance Programme (BPPs), an ethical, social and environmental compliance programme that is independently third party verified.
- The Family of Companies disbursed US$34.7 million in community social investment , including contractually mandated initiatives and in-kind benefits (2010: US$33.5 million). This amounts to 2.7 percent of pre-tax profits of US$1,290 million, significantly in excess of the international benchmark of 1% (2010: 3.7 percent, US$894 million).
- Across the Family of Companies, over 200,000 hectares have been set aside for conservation, an area five times larger than the company’s mining footprint (39,361 hectares). This includes its partnership in the Diamond Route, an award-winning cross-provincial, nine-site tourism route across southern Africa.
- The Family of Companies’ use of reused and recycled water at its southern African mines remained relatively constant at approximately 46 percent (2010: 50 percent).