Brilliant Earth’s Responsible Sourcing Program is aligned with its Ethical Business Policy, both of which have been developed as guiding principles for living up to our commitment of providing our customers with ethically sourced fine jewelry. We strive to continuously progress against our goals of responsibly sourcing our precious metals and gemstones in alignment (where applicable) with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance (DDG) for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The guidelines contained herein are derived from these standards.
Brilliant Earth’s mission is to cultivate a more ethical, transparent and sustainable jewelry industry and to provide our customers with products that are consistent with their social values. Many jewelers offer “conflict free” diamonds, referring to adherence to the Kimberley Process, which narrowly defines conflict diamonds as rough diamonds used to finance wars against governments. What this definition leaves out is large numbers of diamonds that are tainted by violence, human rights abuses, poverty, environmental degradation, and other issues. We go beyond the usual standard to offer Beyond Conflict FreeTM diamonds that have been carefully selected for their ethical and environmentally responsible origins.
Going Beyond Conflict FreeTM means that we only use a select group of diamond Suppliers who can demonstrate a robust chain of custody protocol for their diamonds and can track and segregate diamonds by country of origin. These diamonds come from specific countries of origin that meet our standards. Our Suppliers must demonstrate their commitment to follow internationally recognized labor, trade, and environmental standards. In addition, Brilliant Earth primarily uses recycled and re-refined precious metals in our fine jewelry.
Adherence to Brilliant Earth’s responsible sourcing standards described in this Supplier Code of Conduct (“Code”) and defined herein is a requirement of doing business with us and is considered a requirement of all agreements and contracts with our Suppliers. Suppliers are also responsible for implementing the requirements of the Code to their suppliers used in the production of Brilliant Earth products.
This Code is being communicated to Suppliers in the second quarter of 2019 and replaces previous versions. Various elements of the Code have already been implemented, but the expectation is that requirements outlined herein are effective immediately upon communication to Suppliers and the implementation processes described will begin once the Code has been communicated to Suppliers. For Suppliers whose business relationships with Brilliant Earth commenced prior to the effective date of this document, Brilliant Earth will be implementing this Code and updating written supplierdocuments after the Code is published.
We realize that our Suppliers vary in the products and services that they deliver to us and every element of this Code may not be applicable to all Suppliers. We also understand that there are currently different industry standards mentioned in this Code that may apply to all of our Suppliers. Sections below will indicate to which Suppliers certain requirements will apply.
As the industry continues to evolve, we will also modify our Code to include updated industry requirements and to cover apitional aspects of our supply chain. If changes to the Code are made, we will communicate the updated version to Suppliers.
It is important that our Suppliers demonstrate the capability and willingness to follow robust legal, ethical, labor, trade, human rights, and environmental standards. Brilliant Earth’s Supplier Code of Conduct establishes the standards that Brilliant Earth expects its Suppliers to abide by. As a condition of doing business with Brilliant Earth, Suppliers must maintain and consistently demonstrate their commitment and capability to comply with Brilliant Earth’s Supplier Code of Conduct.
Scope: This Code applies to all of Brilliant Earth’s direct and indirect Suppliers, including their parent, subsidiary or affiliate entities (herein referred to as “Supplier”). All Suppliers are expected to adhere to this Code and are responsible for ensuring their practices are consistent with the practices herein. Suppliers are responsible for compliance at the facilities they use to produce products supplied to Brilliant Earth. Suppliers are required to disclose facilities that are owned, leased, subcontracted or used in any material form to produce any item supplied to Brilliant Earth. The same obligations outlined herein will also apply to subcontractors or independent contractors used by Supplier. Suppliers are responsible for compliance of their subcontractors or independent contractors with this Code, to the extent that subcontractors or independent contractors are involved in the production processes or any manufacturing stages carried out on behalf of Brilliant Earth.
Adherence to this Code is an enforced part of any agreement or contract between Brilliant Earth and our Suppliers. By signing this Code, Brilliant Earth Suppliers confirm that they will comply with the expectations outlined in the Code and will notify Brilliant Earth immediately if they observe any non-compliance with the Code.
Brilliant Earth Suppliers are expected to comply with all applicable laws in all jurisdictions where they do business and conduct their business in accordance with the highest standards of ethical behavior. We recognize that our Suppliers operate in different areas of the world and reside in different legal and cultural environments. In all cases, we expect our Suppliers to comply with applicable legal requirements.
Money laundering and/or financing of terrorism: Supplier shall not engage in money laundering or financing of terrorism. Where applicable, Supplier confirms that it has an anti-money laundering program in place to fully comply with the USA Patriot Act.
Financial Accounting: Supplier shall maintain financial accounts of all business transactions in accordance with international accounting standards. Supplier shall pay all taxes and ensure fees and royalties are reported and paid timely to the relevant government authorities, and where applicable, disclosed in accordance with principles set forth under the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Confidentiality: Supplier shall take all necessary measures to ensure the confidentiality of business and/or trade secrets and intellectual property rights and/or other non-public information received during their business relationship with Brilliant Earth.
Transparency of Information: Supplier shall provide clear and accurate information regarding their business practices, resources used, production sites and characteristics of the products supplied to Brilliant Earth.
Subcontracting: Supplier shall not contract out any part of the work related to Brilliant Earth goods without disclosing such subcontracting relationships to Brilliant Earth. Any subcontractor or independent contractor used for Brilliant Earth work will be subject to this Code and Supplier is responsible for the compliance of their subcontractors or independent contractors with these requirements.
Supplier shall at all times respect the fundamental human rights of all workers, (including full-time, part-time or contracted) business partners and customers and observe the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the ILO Conventions on Labor Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas in ways appropriate to their size and circumstances. Where relevant, Suppliers shall adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Responsible Jewellery Council Code of Practices. Suppliers shall use fair and responsible labor practices and treat all employees with full respect and dignity.
Supplier shall make an effort to support the development of local communities in which it operates.
Supplier shall comply with all relevant environmental regulations and seek to ensure the efficiency of their business operations in terms of consumption of natural resources including, but not limited to water, waste and energy.
Supplier shall make all commercially practical efforts to ensure the integrity of the goods and services provided to Brilliant Earth. This includes being transparent about the characteristics and origin of goods and ensuring those goods go beyond current industry conflict-free standards.
Brilliant Earth conforms to the OECD and European Commission definitions of Conflict Affected and High Risk Areas (CAHRAs). Because the nature of conflict is constantly changing, we will conduct an annual assessment to define the countries we believe fall within those definitions. It is anticipated that the European Commission will utilize a variety of experts to develop a list in the upcoming year and once that list is released, we will also use it as reference. In the meantime, Brilliant Earth will utilize the sources provided by the European Commission in or process of determining CAHRAs including publicly available risk indexes and data.
Brilliant Earth will use a risk-based approach to assess Suppliers and the risk of non-compliance with this Code. Our risk assessment will focus on risks throughout the supply chain based on a variety of factors including category of product or service supplied, country of origin and governance as defined by the European Commission and OECD definitions of Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, type of business (sightholder, manufacturer, etc.), traceability of products, length of time in business, data collected directly from suppliers and other publicly available information. Brilliant Earth reserves the right to conduct announced audits at the Suppliers’ sites either by themselves or through a third-party auditor to verify compliance with this Code. To reduce audit fatigue among Suppliers, Brilliant Earth’s risk-based approach will place more emphasis on higher-risk Suppliers and may leverage other audits that have already been conducted. We will take concrete steps to mitigate all material identified risks of non-compliance with this Code, up to and including severing contracts with noncompliant Suppliers.
The following outlines Brilliant Earth’s Risk Assessment and Compliance Process for Suppliers of Natural Diamonds and Jewelry Production:
Phase 1 - Information Gathering to Identify Risks: Suppliers are required to complete our onboarding Affidavit. The Affidavit takes into consideration the Supplier’s business operations, products to be supplied to Brilliant Earth and the extent of any human rights and/or environmental sustainability assessments conducted at the Supplier’s operations. The information provided in the Affidavit will allow us to assess the Supplier based on industry specific risks, including country of operation and the Supplier’s compliance management systems.
Phase 2 - Identify Risks: Based on the information provided in Phase 1, Suppliers will be given a risk rating of low-risk, moderate-risk, high-risk or extreme-risk. During this risk rating process, supplier may be contacted by the Brilliant Earth Compliance team to gather additional information. If Supplier is asked to provide additional information, it must do so in a timely manner. Failure to provide the information within an appropriate timeframe may result in a high-risk or extreme-risk rating.
Phases 3 and 4 – Analyze, Rate and Treat Risks: Supplier will be notified of its risk rating. Based on the rating, the following action is required:
| Risk Rating | Action |
|---|---|
| Low-Risk |
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| Moderate-Risk |
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| High-Risk |
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| Extreme-Risk |
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Should Supplier be required to undergo a third-party audit, Brilliant Earth will provide information on approved audit standards and audit firms. At any time, all Suppliers, regardless of risk rating may also be subject to an in-person assessment by a member of the Brilliant Earth Compliance Team and are expected to comply with such request.
Upon completion of an audit- either by a third-party or by a member of the Brilliant Earth Compliance Team- Supplier’s risk rating may be modified. This will determine any necessary follow-up action. In the event of a non-compliance, we expect the Supplier to be committed and engaged in remedying the non-compliance on the basis of a Corrective Action Plan to be implemented by a mutually agreed date. Our intention is to work with our Suppliers to help improve practices in the supply chain. If a Supplier is having difficulty meeting one of our requirements, we will make an effort to work with them to meet our standards before severing a relationship. However, if there are findings in an assessment that we consider to be an extreme risk (e.g. child labor and forced labor), we will sever the relationship.
If Brilliant Earth determines that it is necessary to terminate the relationship with Supplier due to non-compliance with this Code and/or audit findings, Brilliant Earth may consider resuming a business relationship with the Supplier only after satisfactory corrective action has been completed.
Phase 5 – Monitor Risks: After completion of the initial assessment of Supplier’s compliance with this Code, Supplier will be required to complete an annual Responsible Sourcing Compliance Report acknowledging compliance with this Code. High-risk Suppliers may be required to undergo more frequent reviews. The report will be issued to Supplier in a questionnaire format and must be completed annually within the timeframe prescribed by Brilliant Earth.
Brilliant Earth is a member of the RJC and expects Suppliers that manufacture natural diamonds and jewelry production Suppliers to also become members of the RJC or have an equivalent audit. The membership or audit should apply to the facilities used in the manufacturing of materials and/or products for Brilliant Earth. We understand that this may take some time and we will allow Suppliers up to one year after acknowledging this Code to become a member of RJC or complete an equivalent audit. Once a Supplier becomes a certified RJC member, Supplier may be deemed a low-risk Supplier as defined in the Risk Assessment and Compliance Process section of this Code. We may consider other equivalent industry standard audits in lieu of RJC.
As previously stated, this Code is also applicable to subcontractors, and Suppliers are responsible for their subcontractors’ or independent contractors’ compliance with this Code. Contractors used by our Suppliers may also be required to provide proof of an acceptable audit covering facilities used for production of Brilliant Earth materials.
We recognize that effective grievance mechanisms are key to safeguarding worker rights in our operations and our supply chain and can act as an early-warning risk awareness tool to help identify supply chain risks. We are committed to working with our Suppliers to ensure appropriate mechanisms are made available within their own supply chains to ensure grievances can be raised and resolved through appropriate channels. This grievance process is also aligned with responsible supply chain standards including the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains.
What would constitute a grievance?
For this process, a grievance is a report of alleged non-compliance with our Responsible Sourcing Standards that has occurred in our supply chain and has a direct adverse human rights, responsible labor practices, community development or environmental impact. This could include:
How are grievances raised?
We may receive grievances through one of a variety of different channels, including through our Responsible Sourcing email inbox ([email protected]), via postal mail (300 Grant Ave, 99 Harlan Pl 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108, Attn: Director of Responsible Sourcing), through audit findings or other third-party stakeholders.
Who can raise a grievance?
Any individual or organization directly affected by an issue, or an organization with a formal mandate to represent individuals or communities directly affected, can make a complaint related to Brilliant Earth. This includes all affected stakeholders such as workers, community members and/or whistle-blowers. They must have access to firsthand knowledge of the circumstances of the complaint and if they are an organization, they must be viewed as a legitimate representative of those affected.
What information is required to raise a grievance?
We request that you provide the following information so that we can properly process the complaint:
Is the complaint confidential?
Brilliant Earth wishes all parties to have confidence in the complaint procedures. We therefore deal with grievance in an open and transparent way. Unless there are good reasons not to do so, all information received will be provided to all other parties to the grievance. If there is sensitive information, the preferred course is to agree with all parties on how to deal with this. In principle, details of individual employees or complainants should be provided. However, we recognize the risk of retaliation facing workers making complaints about their employment conditions, or individuals raising issues related to human rights violations. In these circumstances, unless required by law or judicial order, we will not disclose the identities of workers to employers to open them up to retaliation, or the names of individuals who may have been subjected to human rights violations, where such disclosure would lead to their likely intimidation or victimization.
What if the complaint is anonymous?
Ideally, Brilliant Earth would like to contact a complainant and verify the details of any allegation, but we do understand that at times, individuals may wish to make an anonymous grievance. Where anonymous grievances are received, the we will investigate and determine whether there are grounds to the grievance. However, in the case of anonymous grievances we will not be able to inform the complainant with the outcome of those investigations, or the actions taken by the Brilliant Earth. If an individual decides to make an anonymous grievance it is important that the complainant provides as much information as possible to substantiate their grievance.
How quickly will complaints be handled?
It is important that grievances are submitted to the Brilliant Earth promptly so that breaches of our Supplier Standards outlined in our Code or any negative human rights impact can be rectified as soon as possible. Brilliant Earth strives to assess complaints and take expedient action. The timeline of addressing the complaint will be based on the nature, scale, complexity and geographic origin of the complaint.
What process will be followed when Brilliant Earth receives a grievance?
Brilliant Earth will apply a framework of investigation principles, which can be adjusted depending on the nature of the particular issue and circumstances. The below outlines the steps Brilliant Earth will follow if it receives a grievance:
By signing below, Supplier confirms that its products and business conduct are compliant with Brilliant Earth’s Supplier Code of Conduct as outlined above. Should Supplier’s policies change from the aforementioned at any point, Supplier will notify Brilliant Earth in writing immediately.
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