LVMH announces the launch of the Gemstones and Jewelry Community Platform, a joint initiative inspired by strong sustainability commitments. The Coloured Gemstones Working Group, created to catalyze positive change across the jewelry industry, has been active in promoting responsible sourcing of raw materials for many years. LVMH is a founding member of the CGWG, which represents all LVMH Maisons, including Tiffany & Co. The other members are Chopard, Kering, Richemont, Swarovski and mining companies Gemfields and Muzo.
Unveiled on April 29 in conjunction with the 2021 OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains, the Gemstones and Jewellery Community Platform is the fruit of five years of collaboration by the CGWG. This free digital resource is available to the entire gemstone and jewelry industry, from mining to retail. The platform offers a comprehensive range of tools and training resources, including presentations and talks and webinars on sustainability in the industry. Centered around ten key commitments for responsible sourcing and production, the platform spans over 40 different topics relevant to the colored gemstone sector, notably human rights and environmental protection.
To help build transparency, the Gemstones and Jewellery Community Platform provides self-assessment tools to help businesses improve their sustainability practices. There is also a community section designed to promote collaboration between businesses and their suppliers, customers and other partners.
“The beauty of a gem no longer depends simply on its color, cut, clarity, and carat, but also relies on the stone’s story and the conditions in which it was extracted and transformed. LVMH and its Maisons believe that offering jewelry mounted with responsibly-sourced gemstones is a duty that we share with all our stakeholders. Only through collaboration such as that within the CGWG can we bring about true and lasting change in the sector and add a stone to the legacy of responsible mineral sourcing,” says Hélène Valade, Environmental Development Director, LVMH
The launch of the platform was officially announced during the 14th Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply organized by the OECD, bringing together representatives from government, business and civil society. Speakers during a webinar organized by the Coloured Gemstones Working Group on April 29 included Eleonora Rizzuto, Sustainable Development Director, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer – Bvlgari Group and LVMH Italy. She underlined the priority that LVMH places on ensuring that “the entire supply chain uses precious metals and gemstones from responsible sources, with complete respect for ethical and environmental standards.” She added that in a changing environment “the Gemstones and Jewellery Community Platform is both a tangible result of collective effort and a starting point to establish a shared vision and pursue concrete actions.”
Tiffany & Co., another LVMH Maison, has been especially active in promoting responsible practices by members of the gemstone industry. Anisa Kamadoli Costa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Tiffany, underlined the importance of community in fostering changes in practices. “At Tiffany & Co., we have long been committed to sourcing in a socially and environmentally-responsible manner. We also recognize that collaboration can drive transparency and positive change within the jewelry sector. Tiffany & Co. is proud to be a founding member of the Coloured Gemstone Working Group and to launch the Gemstones and Jewellery Community Platform, which makes available resources for the entire gemstones and jewelry industry, an advancement towards a more transparent and responsible colored gemstone supply chain.”
The importance of traceability is addressed by the new environmental strategy recently unveiled by the LVMH Group, emphasizing the advent of a new vision for luxury inspired by an alliance of nature and creativity. By 2030, 100% of LVMH’s strategic supply chains will integrate dedicated traceability systems. The Group is also making traceability an integral part of the customer experience by providing a dedicated information system for all new products by 2026.
