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CIBJO, the international jewellery confederation of national trade organizations, and Intertek Italia, the Italian subsidiary of quality assurance provider Intertek Group, announced the launch of a program aimed at training and certifying people working in the areas of corporate social responsibility, sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals within the gemstone and jewellery industries.
In a press release, the organizations said that the rationale behind this initiative is that there is a growing need for professional compliance officers to be knowledgeable about companies’ internal compliance systems and a number of global standards such as the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, the World Diamond Council System of Warranties, the Responsible Jewellery Council Code of Practice, the Dodd-Frank Act, the European Conflict Minerals legislation and the OECD conflict minerals guidance.
If successful, the pilot program would lead to the creation of CIBJO’s educational arm, the World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation
CIBJO and Intertek Italia said that acknowledging this demand, they decided to create a pilot program that, if successful, would lead to the creation of CIBJO’s educational arm, the World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation.
According to the firms, the goal of the academy will be to offer educational programmes that provide prospective CSR, sustainability and SDG compliance officers with the knowledge and skills necessary to do their jobs.
Within this school, Intertek would certify people for the various levels of compliance officers, according to an internationally recognized accreditation process.
“There clearly is a gap in the industry’s skill set, and together with Intertek, CIBJO and WJCEF seek to fill it,” CIBJO’s president, Gaetano Cavalieri, said in the media brief. “There is already a range of a CSR, sustainability and SDG standards being applied in our industry, and not only is the number likely to increase but so are the demands that companies must comply with them in order to gain access to both suppliers and customers.”
