The Kimberley Process is a multilateral trade body, founded in 2003, with the sole aim of putting a stop to the flow of conflict diamonds. The Kimberley Process was adopted following collaboration between governments, non-governmental organizations and the entire diamond industry. The KP has 59 participants, representing 85 countries in total (Note: the European Union and its 27 Member States counting as a single participant, represented by the European Commission). Kimberley Process members account for approximately 99.8% of the global production of rough diamonds.
Kimby is very proud to put ethical sourcing at the forefront of its investment proposal. Accordingly, Kimby will continue to adopt and update the zero-tolerance approach in respect of sourcing its diamonds.
Our members can feel confident in knowing that our diamonds have been responsibly sourced. Kimby requires all of its suppliers to comply with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and the World Diamond Council’s System of Warranties.
We are committed to demonstrating our zero-tolerance approach to conflict stones by ensuring a two-tier verification thesis:
1. We only acquire diamonds from respected suppliers, who like Kimby, proudly adhere to the frameworks and standards established by the Kimberley Process in 2003;
2. During this acquisition phase, we require all our suppliers to include a statement alike, on all invoices and delivery documentation:
- “Any natural diamonds herein supplied have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations Resolutions and corresponding national laws. The seller hereby guarantees that these natural diamonds are conflict-free and confirms adherence to the WDC SOW Guidelines.”
“SoW” has been created by the World Diamond Council to create another layer of protection and also commitment, for the diamond trade to eradicate the possibility of conflict diamonds entering the market. The SoW is a self-regulation system designed to protect the integrity of the natural diamond supply chain. It does so by ensuring that all diamonds traded are Kimberley Process compliant, and also have been handled in accordance with universal principles of human rights, labor rights, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. The SoW is applied each time ownership of any natural diamond changes hands within the industry and trade, both when exported or imported, and when being sold in the same country.
The SoW requires professional buyers and sellers of rough diamonds, polished diamonds and jewelry set with diamonds to include a warranty statement on business-to-business invoices each time a diamond changes hands, assuring the next buyer that it originated from sources in compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
We are very pleased to be establishing a corporate responsibility and sustainability program. There is often a lack of information on ESG risks in the global diamond trade which is why we are taking our first steps in our sustainability journey, together with the support of third party independent ESG advisors, to map out our core ethics and sustainability roadmap for the future.
We want to ensure that we maintain a positive impact on the global diamond industry by developing a responsible product for all of our members and stakeholders. Our strategy is rooted in accountable diamond supply and accordingly, we believe that Kimby’s future economic growth can be achieved with social and environmental responsibility.
The commissioning of our first Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability policy will be underpinned by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and is designed not only to focus on mitigating environmental, social and governance risks, but to set ambitious goals which will enable us to manage an ethically managed diamond portfolio.