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Press Release: The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) is inviting attendees of this year’s International Jewellery London (IJL) to a champagne reception on Sunday, August 31 at stand J31, in celebration of the upcoming launch of the Association’s new course: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the jewelry professional. Developed in conjunction with Branded Trust and CIBJO’s educational charity, the World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), Gem-A’s new course aims to provide the industry with an essential foundation for corporate social responsibility, which can be incorporated into any size business, no matter where it is located in the jewelry supply chain. The online course provides a series of interactive lectures, delivered by experts in all the relevant areas and supplemented with readings, tests and a written essay; and provides a unique perspective on how to tackle issues of corporate social responsibility in the jewelry industry. Gem-A has been working with CIBJO, WJCEF and Branded Trust over the past year to help the jewelry industry realize the growing importance of corporate social responsibility as an essential aspect of professional accreditation and how it is becoming increasingly clear that customers now expect jewelry professionals to be able to advise on non-technical issues such as the origins, or social and environmental impact of their jewelry purchase. The course aims to assist jewelers in this process by giving a structured outline of the benefits of corporate social responsibility and how a range of businesses can use different tools and techniques to assist in implementing a program, building trust and improving overall business performance. Gem-A’s ethics manager, Vivien Johnston, commented on the Association’s new course, saying, “Working alongside Branded Trust we have come up with a number of superb modules that give straight-forward, practical and actionable advice for the jewelry professional to increase their company’s ethical value. For anyone serious about tracking the impact of their business practices and improving the areas, environments and communities they do business in, Gem-A and Branded Trust’s new course can give real measurable advice on how to start becoming a more socially responsible company.” These comments were echoed by Gem-A's CEO, James Riley, who discussed how Gem-A is aiming to be on the forefront of how corporate social responsibility is introduced and measured within the jewelry industry. Riley said, “For the last few years ‘ethics’ and ideas about being ‘ethical’, ‘green’, or ‘socially responsible’ have been bandied around the jewelry industry like they’re going out of fashion. We think it’s great that the conversation about issues surrounding corporate social responsibility and how we, as an industry, tackle them, has begun. However, problems remain with the industry being able to validate these claims with real practical measures for educating and tracking company policy and its impacts. Gem-A and Branded Trust hope to change this with an industry-wide push for the validation and accreditation of those committed to a socially responsible supply chain through a series of initiatives, starting with this new focused professional qualification.” Attendees of this year’s IJL show will be treated to a free glass of champagne and an exclusive first glimpse at the new course and the Branded Trust system at Gem-A stand J31 from 12:30 p.m. on August 31. Early adopters are able to register their interest on the stand and make sure they’re the first students to officially enroll on the course, for a one-off fee of GBP 595. Gem-A will also be offering visitors to the stand a chance to evaluate the updated diamond diploma course notes that will be available to member graduates of the diamond diploma and to any new students starting their diploma in September. Both of these new products will also be available at Gem-A’s booth (3M046) at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, from September 17 to 21. For more information on Gem-A’s attendance at IJL, the new course or the updated diamond diploma notes, please email Gem-A at information(at)gem-a.com or call 44(0)207.404.3334.
About Gem-A
The Gemmological Association of Great Britain, or Gem-A, a London-based educational charity, is the world’s longest established provider of gem education and a membership organization that forms an international community of gem professionals and enthusiasts. Gem-A seeks to serve the best interests of the gem and jewelry industries worldwide through its commitment to supporting gemological research and high educational and trade standards. For information see www.gem-a.com. To find out more about Gem-A, please follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/GemAofGB Facebook: fb.com/GemAofGB and LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/gem-a About Branded Trust Branded Trust was established over five years ago as an informal research partnership between top academics experts in the areas of social responsibility, corporate governance, social accounting, international law and regulation, economics and organizational behavior. This group of academics engaged with industry bodies, public sector organizations and social responsibility practitioners from companies of all sized to research and develop sensible and cost effective solutions to the challenges of understanding and implementing social responsibility. Since then, the Branded Trust Foundation has supported the development and testing of social responsibility tools such as the world’s first social responsibility management system and the world’s first automated ethical supply-chain and chain of custody solution. The Branded Trust Foundation is governed by an advisory committee comprised of representatives from the public sector, industry associations and large and small companies. It is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and is based in Australia. For further information, you can visit the Branded Trust website at: www.brandedtrust.org.
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