HAPPY EARTH DAY!
It’s the perfect time to talk about the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), a non-profit with headquarters in London, England. RJC focuses on responsible business practices in the gold, platinum group metals, and diamonds supply chain and it requires its member companies to achieve certification against its Code of Practices (COP) standard. The COP requires RJC members to meet the highest ethical, social and environmental standards to achieve RJC certification.
One more thing
RJC’s COP constantly evolves, growing more comprehensive while still being implementable as the industry gains new abilities to measure and set standards. Essentially, getting certified is a commitment to ongoing improvement. Members get recertified every three years to continue to demonstrate their commitment to responsible business practices and to their customers. In short, RJC certification is an important way we, in the industry including all companies from mine to retail, can hold ourselves accountable.
Stuller’s RJC Certification
We achieved certification on March 20, 2019. This involved significant preparation including a robust independent third-party audit. Before the audit, many of us at Stuller attended a class to learn about RJC and understand Stuller’s commitment to responsible business practices and RJC certification.
Why get RJC certification?
I decided to ask Stanley Zale, Stuller’s Vice President of Diamond and Gemstone Procurement. His answer goes straight to the heart of the matter.
“Ethical sourcing, supply chain transparency, workplace safety, and other similar issues, are of increasing concern to more and more consumers and businesses. The RJC Code of Practices helps the jewelry industry meet these challenges.”
Does RJC set or get its standards?
Some of both. In addition to setting the Code of Practices standard for the mine-to-retail supply chain, it is also a member of the ISEAL Alliance, a global association for social and environmental standards. ISEAL members are committed to creating solid and credible standard systems that give business, governments, and consumers the ability to choose responsibly produced goods and services. As a full ISEAL member, RJC is committed to ISEAL’s mission and Code of Ethics and complies with ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice. Membership of ISEAL helps RJC continue to improve the development and implementation of its standards, and share experiences and ideas with other sectors.
A little more about RJC
Created by the industry, for the industry, RJC was founded in 2005 by a group of businesses to address whole-of supply chain challenges and improve and restore consumer confidence and trust in the jewelry industry. Founding members included Cartier (part of Richemont), World Jewellery Confederation, Diamond Trading Company (part of De Beers), Jewelers of America, Signet Group, Tiffany & Co. and more.
Overall
“Achieving RJC certification was the result of Stuller’s ongoing commitment to conducting all phases of our operations in the most ethical, environmentally and socially responsible manner.” Belit Myers, Vice President Compliance, Inventory, and Information
Did you know?
For many years, Stuller has had extensive internal environmental standards throughout our business. Our commitment to environmental sustainability covers all aspects of our operations from the handling and disposal of chemicals, energy management, waste management, water management, and logistics to the recycled paper we choose for our catalogs. We continuously look for new ways to improve our commitment to environmental sustainability which makes our membership in RJC a perfect match.
