Gem-A to launch CSR programme

The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) is celebrating its new course: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for the jewellery professional, with an event inviting attendees of this year’s International Jewellery London (IJL). The champagne reception is slated on Sunday 31 August.

The new CSR programme has been developed in conjunction with Branded Trust and CIBJO’s educational charity, the World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), intending to give an essential foundation for CSR and which can be incorporated by a business of any size, in the jewellery supply chain. The online course provides interactive lectures by experts, supported with reading material, providing a perspective on how to tackle issues of CSR in the jewellery industry.

Gem-A has initiated to spread the importance of CSR in the jewellery industry, for which it has been working closely with CIBJO, WJCEF and Branded Trust over the last year. The efforts aim to elucidate how a range of businesses can use different tools and techniques to assist in implementing a CSR programme, building trust, and improving overall business performance.

Gem-A’s Ethics Manager, Vivien Johnston, commented on the Association’s new CSR-focussed offering, saying: “Working alongside Branded Trust we have come up with a number of superb modules that give straight-forward, practical, and actionable advice for the jewellery professional to increase their company’s ethical value.”

Attendees of the IJL show 2014 will be treated to a free glass of champagne, with an exclusive glimpse of the new course and the Branded Trust system at Gem-A stand J31. Gem-A is allowing early adopters to register their interest on the stand and ensure they are the first students to officially enrol on the course, for a one-off fee of £595. Visitors to the stand would also be given the chance to evaluate the updated Diamond Diploma course notes that will be available to member graduates of the Diamond Diploma and to any new students starting their diploma in September. Both of these new products will also be available at Gem-A’s booth (3M046) at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, from 17 - 21 September.