November 2021 | Lab Grown Magazine

November 2021 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 24 To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | November 2021 25 “A ll press is good press.” Years ago, that phrase stood strong. Many continue to assert any pub- licity is beneficial since garnering media atten- tion keeps your company top-of-mind. Times have changed. Doing business has changed. Consumer attitudes and buying preferences have changed. This modern reality has set a new public rela- tions bar. No one can spin straw into gold when discuss- ing sustainability. If you’re caught trying, say goodbye to your reputation and a lot of money in legal fees. But, if you gain verifiable, positive sustainability PR, the benefits are immediate and enduring. In the first two parts of this series, we noted that the diamond industry (mined and man-made combined) makes up a mere sliver of negative carbon emission groups. Compared to the top 100 companies making the carbon chaos list [Saudi Aramco, Royal Dutch Shell, China National Petroleum, BP, and sixteen other fossil fuel companies are linked to over one-third of the total greenhouse gases emitted yearly], the diamond industry is not on that list. This Just In… Top tech firms SAP, IBM, and Google have been caught under-reporting their corporate carbon footprint by as much as 50%. This research was released at press time by the Technical University of Munich. Experts examined how incorrect reporting on business travel, employee commuting, and how companies’ products are made and used contribute to dangerously large car- bon footprints. An important sidebar—a major media- focused sustainability corporation, ERM, is responsible for nudging universities to investigate sustainability- related issues and getting leading research companies funded to help create newsworthy sustainability releases to satisfy shareholders worldwide. With the major carbon offenders outside our sec- tor being called out, the diamond industry still remains committed to mudslinging mined vs.man-made and vice versa. It does so in the most public of situations while en- suring that sustainability is the constant battle cry.Why? More than ever, diamonds equal dollars. The more positive and eco-minded press either side gains, the more that retailers, consumers, and shareholders will profit. Welcome to the real green game where the stakes couldn’t be higher. Historically, it’s highly strategic (and most successful) to compare and contrast against your single toughest competitor. Is perhaps our industry just leveraging a “clean up the planet” content play when the context is shareholder value wrapped in “Care-about-Earth” editorial releases? Earth Day Every Day It’s rare for any news story to live past a 30-day cycle. Covid aside, we live in an “if it bleeds, it leads” world. Even the most heinous headlines swarm between two to four weeks, then die off. Jeffrey Epstein and posse are now yesterday’s news. A 20-year-long HSBC/JP Mor- gan Chase/Deutsche global banking scandal fell off the media radar in mere weeks. Even the U.S. government admitting that UFOs/UAPs are a national security con- cern have bowed to sustainability headlines. Reading between the lines, today’s diamond-controlled media strategy is a mix of defensive and offensive PR plays.The problem is, we’re on the same team. Diamond sustainability is no longer an option; it’s a competitive necessity. Companies in multiple sectors have proven that operating sustainably and promoting it are more profitable and resilient. Being read as “sustain- able” accelerates a brand’s value and offers greater access to capital. Yet it does something even more important; it attracts and retains ethical and deeply loyal employees and customers, year after year. But the buck doesn’t stop there. Tech companies to trucking firms once had a dotted line to diamonds. Now, these companies have paved a path to newfound PR riding the sustainability wave. In harmony with retooled government agencies and agendas, each is feeding dia- mond sustainability news feeds to keep the news flowing. Catering to mass media appeal and expanding story lines, one word has become as popular as sustainability and that is transparency . Funny thing about transparency; there’s a whole lot more to talk about (and promote) when companies uncloak. From mine-to-market, full diamond disclosure makes for kingly content.This is especially true when the disclosures weren’t meant to go public. “Everyone is responsible for correctly disclosing the nature of the product they are selling, but to facilitate this, we need robust diamond-verification instruments that are rigorously tested,” said Raluca Anghel, head of external affairs and industry relations at the Natural Diamond Council (NDC). She’s referring to the NDC’s Assure program which started in 2019 in coop- eration with Signet Jewelers and De Beers. Assure tests the scanning capability from multiple manufacturers to identify natural diamonds, lab-grown, and simulants from a potential mixed batch. Keep onTruckin’ Many LGD producers remind us that conventional diamond mining carbon complications aren’t just at the site, but also involve the people and transportation to get there. Churning up rocks and creating disastrous emissions from guzzling fossil fuel trucks doesn’t help. Rio Tinto and haul truck manufacturer Caterpil- lar have forged an alliance to launch the world’s first zero emission, autonomous haul truck. Thirty-five are on order for its western Australian operations, part of a $44 million pre-feasibility self-study. “Our ambition to reach net zero emissions across our operations is a priority. Reaching this ambition will require new and innovative solutions and partnerships with supplier partners like Caterpillar,” said Rio Tinto’s Chief Com- mercial Officer, Alf Barrios. BCorps Get an A+ Going green has spawned a relatively new type of business classification within for-profit business registrations. You should know the advantages of being a Benefit Corporation (B Corp) because the perks are numerous, but cautions abound. According to the U.S. Small Business Administra- tion, a B Corp is a for-profit corporation recognized by the majority of U.S. states. Shareholders mandate that B Corp companies produce an increasing profit while gleaming positive environmental and public PR placements. To be certified as a B Corp, a company must achieve a certain score on a B Impact Assessment, an evaluation of the registered company’s impact on its workers, customers, community, and the environment by a group called B Lab . They’ve coined a phrase: “Certified B Corporations are to business what Fair Trade is to coffee.” Passing the B Corp test is difficult; one must clear over 200 points of assessment. If you pass, the ethical standards your company will be held to are constant and rigorous. Since B Corp regulation standards change in two-year waves, once certified, you must re-certify every two years. Before you consider grabbing this coveted business mark, check with your state business regulation laws. So far, 37 states (with four more considering it), allow B Corp. Find out if your state is in the game by visiting https://benefitcorp.net/policymakers/state-by-state-status Looking for a tax break for being an environmentally conscience B Corp? Stop looking. B corps are aligned to the same, or similar, amount of taxes as other for-profit businesses. Plus, there is a lot of legalese to achieve this merit badge. To learn about a B Corp’s legal framework, visit: https://tinyurl.com/3wp7bc7y The NewDiamond Standard An arm of Scientific Certification Systems Inc. (SCS), a chartered Benefit Corporation, is SCS Standards Devel- opment, a non-profit group catering to shareholders and the media. It is self-proclaimed to be the diamond indus- try’s Good Housekeeping sustainability seal of approval. Since the parent company has been overseeing leading corporate documentation claims since 1984, the title wasn’t ques- tioned, rather celebrated. ERM annually conducts a materiality assessment based on membership companies producing the most extensive, resonating, and published sustainability data and reports. One key driver is shareholder value. For more info, visit https://tinyurl.com/a5b48ccs and https://tinyurl.com/xdhzjwpx (Image: ERM) An example of the SCS sustainability certificate. .