GEMSTONE VALUE CHAIN
An Integrated Local Value Chain
Systemic issues
- To find more than one Gemstone with the same carat weight, the same clarity, and color from the same mine site is a pure chance at a specific time
- Uniform designs with specific carat weights dominate the jewelry market, forcing jewelry brands to source from several mines and traders, blurring the transparency negatively impacting social and environmental practices
Environmental, Social & Governance issues (ESG)
- In “ordinary” ASM mining, miners only get paid for their finds rather than their working hours.
- Today, the Health & Safety measures in ASM gemstone mining are rudimentary, often including informal trading and export practices.
- ASM mining frequently happens in non-licensed areas leading to environmental destruction, threatening biodiversity
Unique: Assarée has a unique impact approach together with its impact partners, focusing on transparency rather than standards and a step-by-step impact road map rather than certification.
Assarée Gemstone value chains are unique in being locally fully integrated from mine to market, supporting transparent processing and local value creation. An industry game-changer in the ASM value chains Assarée recognized is that to supply the jewelry market with stones of a particular type, size, and cut keeping full transparency and traceability, solutions require transparent partnerships with different mines or limiting the amounts of same styles in jewelry collections.
Transparent: Being transparent provides knowledge through access and visibility to current supply chain practices. It further allows impact programs to be co-created and measured along the whole value chain. #KnowYourSource (KYS)
All partners along the value chain have committed to integrating transparency as the baseline of their activities, supporting Assarée’s claim that “without transparency, there is no sustainability.” Assarée, in partnership with its Bridgebuilders, will organize impact trips for Assarée clients to visit the integrated value chains and therefore get first-hand insight into the local realities and contexts.
Impactful: Social and environmental impacts are inherently interlinked and, in combination, lead to sustainable, long-lasting impact programs for resilient, thriving communities and an attraction towards clean production processes.
MATERIAL IMPACT ICONS
In partnership with Transparence S.A., Assarée has created an impact iconography to transparently outline the social and environmental impact factors, together striving towards climate positive operations and thriving local communities.
Sustainable impact creation is a journey shared with clients through foremost transparent impact reporting and impact trips along the value chains.
Environmental impact factors & corresponding SDG’s
Land use
Mining only happens in government permitted or privately licensed areas (SDG 15)
Water use
Minimize water usage in mine and processing and no water pollution (SDG 6)
Eco-efficient machinery
State-of-the-art low-impact mining machinery for the field is used, aiming to leave no visible impact behind (SDG 9/12)
Social & Governance impact factors & corresponding SDG’s
Formalized buying process
The miners are working on a concession and have a formal agreement of purchase. (SDG 1/8/9/11/12)
*ESG:
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an investment in a company or business.
**SDG:
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all.”
