Gem-A set to launch new CSR course

The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) is set to launch a brand new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) course for the “jewellery professional.” 

The course has been developed in conjunction with Branded Trust and CIBJO’s educational charity, the World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF).

The course aims to provide the industry with an essential foundation for CSR which can be incorporated into any size business, no matter where it is located on the jewellery supply chain.

The online course will provide a series of interactive lectures, delivered by experts in relevant areas, supplemented reading, tests and written essays.

According to GEM-A the course will provide a “unique perspective” on how to tackle issues of CSR in the jewellery industry.

Vivien Johnston, Gem-A’s ethics manager, said: “Working alongside Branded Trust we have come up with a number of superb modules that give straight-forward , practical, and actionable advice for the jewellery 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 CSR course can give real measurable advice on how to start becoming a more socially responsible company.”

James Riley, CEO of Gem-A, said: “For the last few years ‘ethics’, and ideas about being ‘ethical’, ‘green’, or ‘socially responsible’ have been bandied around the jewellery industry like they’re going out of fashion.

“We think it’s great that the conversation about issues surrounding CSR 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.”