RJC Collaborates with Solidaridad on Gold Mining Standards Pilot Project

(IDEX Online News) – The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and non-profit organization Solidaridad today (Thursday) announced their collaboration in ensuring better, more transparent and accountable practices throughout the gold supply chain.

The two are joining forces to encourage broader participation in RJC by companies in the Global South.

A key focus will be Solidaridad’s new pilot project, which uses RJC’s Code of Practices and Chain-of-Custody standard as tools for improving practices at industrial gold mines.

Solidaridad, an international non-profit organization with a focus on sustainable trade, has developed the pilot to test an innovative approach for decreasing the risks and increasing the benefits of industrial gold mining for people and the environment.

It will ask mining companies to meet internationally-recognized standards for responsible social and environmental practices and verify those practices through independent audits. Solidaridad has selected RJC’s Code of Practices as the standard in the project.

Solidaridad will provide guidance on setting targets related to implementing the standards and broader development goals, and on identifying the resources needed to reach those targets.

Training and capacity-building topics will include human rights, community engagement, conflict resolution and environmental management. In particular, Solidaridad will work to support the companies’ engagement in meaningful community development.

To encourage mining companies to commit to meeting the Code of Practices, Solidaridad will partner with leading branded jewelry companies that want to ensure that their gold is sourced responsibly. Together, they will pilot test traceable supply chains from participating mines to the market using the Chain-of-Custody standard. In the two-year pilot phase, Solidaridad will work with up to four European jewelry brands and three mining companies.

RJC and Solidaridad say they will work together to share the outcomes of the project and use the lessons learned to strengthen the RJC system.

“The pilot project will take RJC’s standards to the small to medium scale industrial gold mining sector, and help grow new approaches to responsible sourcing with these enterprises,” says Fiona Solomon, RJC director – Standards Development. “The jewelry supply chain as a whole benefits from proactive multi-stakeholder efforts such as these and we look forward to working alongside all involved.”