SPECIAL REPORT
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
PHOTO CREDIT: Montage using photos by Ako Tampo and Oscar Ramirez on Unsplash.
A unified sustainability agenda in the jewellery industry: The case for coherence, consistency and collaboration
By John Mulligan
President
CIBJO Sustainable Development Commission
AUGUST 28, 2025
As the global jewellery industry grapples with the complex challenges of responsible sourcing, environmental stewardship, stalled socio-economic development, and inequalities of opportunity, the need for a broadly agreed, collaborative approach to sustainability has never been more urgent.
Fragmentation across geographies, supply chains, and business models has long hindered progress. The recent politicisation of aspects of the sustainability agenda, the prevalence of short-term tactical thinking and associated retrograde policy decisions also challenge the ability of industry leaders to define and implement clear strategic action plans that might place businesses on a convergent path to deliver positive outcomes.
Meanwhile the scientific facts – on climate change, biodiversity loss, socio-economic inequality and insecurity, etc. – are ever more alarming. In some quarters, this can feed into a sense of confusion or helplessness, causing companies to seek refuge in the familiar haven of “business as usual.” Such responses are diametrically opposed to what is needed to drive progress on our shared goals for stability, security, and prosperity. 1
Challenges and opportunities
Additionally, specific sustainability challenges and objectives have, until quite recently, been approached in isolation – as discrete problems with distinct solutions. Whilst this can make good sense when seeking out practical tools and responses to a particular problem (for example, shifting to clean energy sources to decarbonise business operations to mitigate climate change), we often lose sight of the interconnectivity of different aspects of the sustainability agenda. Climate change, nature, and social inequality are deeply intertwined, forming a complex web where environmental degradation exacerbates social vulnerabilities, and systemic inequities hinder the collective capacity to restore ecological balance and achieve sustainable development.
This may make the challenges seem greater but can also be perceived as reflecting an opportunity for greater impacts across a range of issues. Addressing one challenge can have positive consequences for others.
Similarly, an overly narrow view of the sustainability agenda can also lead to a pessimistic (and even “paralysing”) view that any associated responses will be overly burdensome – an inevitable cost and resource overhead that will distract or weigh too heavily on companies. But there is compelling evidence that the opposite is true; that sustainability-focused companies are unlocking business value and growth opportunities. Even in the recent volatile market and policy landscape, such evidence remains strong.
According to Morgan Stanley’s 2025 Sustainable Signals report2, 88 percent of global companies now see sustainability as a core opportunity for long-term value creation.
The Boston Consulting Group also published work this year highlighting six key ways sustainability initiatives can create business value:
- Price premiums for sustainable products
- Cost base reduction through energy efficiency and waste minimization
- Revenue growth via new sustainable markets
- Risk mitigation (e.g. supply chain resilience)
- Talent attraction and retention
- Investor confidence through credible ESG commitments
Unfortunately, such evidence and the possible far-reaching consequences of positive sustainability-focused actions may still remain peripheral or unknown to many.
PHOTO CREDIT: Montage using photos by Yuri Antonenko and Daihana Monares on Unsplash.
CIBJO’s role: Building the educational infrastructure for alignment
CIBJO is emerging as a key force in driving industry-wide sustainability efforts, building on the historical success of its sectoral commissions and the development of the authoritative Blue Books, which, together, offer a structured reference framework supporting consistent standards across global supply chains. The organisation’s commitment to protecting consumer confidence and promoting responsible sourcing is now also evident in its sustainability and ESG guidance materials.
In coming months, CIBJO will release a number of new and/or updated resources which it believes will be sufficient to equip the majority of companies with adequate information to allow them to move forward in assessing and, in time, acting on their key sustainability goals and impacts. These documents offer practical tools for companies to assess and improve their sustainability performance, including:
- An updated Responsible Sourcing Blue Book (and associated Toolkit revisions) – offering more comprehensive foundation, still firmly aligned with OECD Due Diligence Guidance.
- A new Sustainability & ESG Reference Guide – a wide-ranging and detailed, but hopefully accessible, guide to all key aspects of the global sustainability agenda as it applies to the jewellery sector (in contributing to enhanced outcomes for our Planet, its People, and our industry’s Products).
- The “ESG Wheel” supplemented with new materiality assessment guidance – these represent practical roadmaps for integrating ESG/SDG-aligned goals into business strategy, tailored to SME perspectives, with a focus on what is relevant, credible, and achievable.
PHOTO CREDIT:Photo by Amanda Mocci on Unsplash
ESG performance guidelines and measuring what matters
As noted above, the jewellery industry is inherently diverse and decentralised. From artisanal and industrialised miners in remote regions to multinational luxury brands in our major cities, the sector spans a wide array of actors with varying capacities, priorities, and regulatory environments. This fragmentation is also reflected in very varied levels of understanding, and divergent perspectives and priorities, often leading to range of well-intentioned but potentially conflicting response and solutions. This makes industry agreement on what is material and what might be measured and disclosed all the more important.
It has been stated that sustainability means too many different things to too many different people to be a concept of shared practical value to many businesses, but we might respond that that this arises when sustainability is not clearly defined and operationalised. The risk of certain social and environmental objectives being perceived as too distant, vague or diffuse to drive meaningful business outcomes is more likely to occur when companies have not yet translated concepts and goals into actions.
The answer to those companies that seem stalled as they ponder the “Big Picture” challenges is simply: get started. The first small steps can rapidly lead you to accelerated progress and performance improvements. This is which why, in addition to setting out a comprehensive framework of reference points, in the coming CIBJO ESG & Sustainability Reference Guide, the CIBJO’s Sustainable Development Commission has also been supporting the definition and development of practical implementation tools.
In February 2025, CIBJO released a new set of guidelines for measuring ESG performance across the jewellery supply chain.3 Building on the “ESG Wheel” tool initially developed by the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee and the Sustainable Development Commission, these guidelines provide a 10-step approach and sample metrics across 14 key ESG themes. Crucially, they recognise the diversity of the industry and offer scalable solutions for large corporations, SMEs and “boutique” businesses.
Collaboration in action
A newly convened “Sustainability Practice Group,” drawing from specialist experts (and selective advisors) from CIBJO’s membership, is now helping define and review such tools to ensure they remain current and fit for purpose. The group seeks to instil a sense of proactivity and solution-focused thinking into how the organisation selects and prioritises the ideas it brings to the wider Sustainable Development Commission (and, by implication, all other Commissions). This set of committed volunteers can also be seen to further exemplify the collaborative spirit needed to advance sustainability goals – bringing together stakeholders from across the value chain, but with specific expertise in key sustainability fields. This group then aims to encourage the wider CIBJO membership to continue to foster dialogue, share best practices, and drive collective action.
CIBJO’s close engagement with other organisations and coalitions with very similar shared sustainability-focused objectives, such as the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 (WJI2030)4 and the Gold Principles Group5, offer further indications of the route towards greater industry collaborations and convergence. The ongoing sharing of knowledge and expertise, and increased appetite for collaboration is starting to be seen across the industry
The path forward: From principles to practice
To truly embed sustainability into the fabric of the jewellery industry, coherence must be matched by commitment and action. This means:
- Adopting shared principles, reference points and performance standards: Industry actors should align with established good practice guidance and progress metrics.
- Engaging in industry-wide and/or multi-stakeholder initiatives: Collaboration across sectors and geographies is essential.
- Reporting transparently: Companies should strive to move towards consistent disclosure of sustainability and ESG performance, for greater accountability and, ultimately, greater trust.
These points are not merely aspirational; they are, in many cases, fundamental prerequisites to progress. Within jewellery supply chains, industry and commodity (precious materials) associations need to further embrace these changes and deepen their capacity to support their members in becoming more active, transparent and able to measure their impacts.
CIBJO is very eager to support these organisations in expanding their abilities and ambitions, but this may also require shifts in mindset and culture at the local level. A good start to overcoming any immediate barriers might be to open new dialogues with other industry players, but also those beyond your immediate stakeholder group. Again, CIBJO is here to help.
Taking stock and looking forward
The 2026 CIBJO Congress in Vicenza, Italy, will mark the start of the World Jewellery Confederation’s Centenary Year and serve as a pivotal moment to reflect on progress and renew collective ambition.
The Sustainable Development Commission strongly believes that CIBJO will be well placed to celebrate its achievements in establishing a firm foundation – of knowledge and tools – to allow its members (and the wider jewellery industry) to move forward with confidence in better understanding and contributing to positive social and environmental outcomes.
But we should also acknowledge we have a long way to go, and we have no time to waste.
FOOTNOTES
1 . As The World Social Report 2025, the flagship publication of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)’ reported this year, “overcoming these challenges—and accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—will require fundamental shifts in policy, institutions, norms and mindsets.”
2. https://www.morganstanley.com/insights/articles/corporate-sustainability-signals-report-2025
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