At a milestone meeting led by industry advisors, Gemdax, and joined by De Beers, nine diamond companies put forward a commitment to transform the so called ‘midstream’, working towards a completely sustainable and ethical supply chain. Participants will commit to developing concrete roadmaps to reduce carbon emissions, which will be reviewed and assessed every 6 months.

Diamonds are the ultimate luxury purchase and consumers are increasingly demanding that not only are they mined and sourced responsibly, but that the manufacturing and trading process is consistent with their values/environmental views, which includes having a net zero carbon footprint. Manufacturing typically emits carbon in its use of conventional electricity sources, transport and distribution methods. There are improvement opportunities in all these areas, on top of bringing wider social and environment benefits.

Sustainably Brilliant a first of its kind event organised by Gemdax, with a keynote from Stephen Lussier who is the Executive Vice President of Consumer and Brands at De Beers and the Chairman of the Natural Diamond Council. Other speakers included David Prager (Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs at De Beers), Chris Coulter (CEO of GlobeScan), and Moya McKeown (Consultant at Carbon Expert), who provided insights and guidance on the changing consumer landscape, how to robustly assess an organisation’s environmental footprint, and taking concrete steps towards achieving carbon neutrality.

“There is no task more important than inspiring consumers with what we call the Diamond Dream. Our mission is to educate consumers on the industry and positive social contribution diamonds make to the world today,” Stephen Lussier, EVP Marketing DB, said. De Beers has a comprehensive set of initiatives called Building Forever, which aims to create a positive and lasting legacy for generations to come.

“This work builds on the tremendous efforts De Beers has made to create sustainable mining,'' Anish Aggarwal, Gemdax partner, said. "As a next phase, it was important to bring the midstream on board. Without them, we can’t complete the picture and give the consumer what they increasingly want, which is a sustainable diamond from the mine to their finger.” Gemdax represents the nine De Beers customers signed up to this initiative: D Navinchandra Gems, Dianco, Diamant Impex, Diarush, HVK International, Hari Darshan, H Dipak and Co, Yaelstar, and StarRays.