OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY
Leading through transparency and ethics.
As a company built on the core values of Integrity, Accountability, Innovation and Safety, WD Advanced Materials is dedicated to leading with transparency, and setting a new benchmark in sustainability for others to follow.
Every choice we make at WD reflects our commitment to responsible Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. In keeping with our dedication to sustainability, and our responsibility as the leading laboratory grown diamond producer, in October 2020, we became the first diamond company in the world to be granted third-party sustainability certification and to achieve The 5th C: Climate Neutrality™, defining a new level of excellence beyond the 4Cs of Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat.
![SCS_SRD_DECAL_PRODUCERANDHANDLER_gold[3]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4fc739_fc191df8bb5b4f82981838ed521650f8~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_395,h_390,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/SCS_SRD_DECAL_PRODUCERANDHANDLER_gold%5B3%5D.png)
A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
The world's first Sustainability Rated diamonds.
We're dedicated to driving innovation through integrity and transparency. Our team of scientists, engineers, artisans and business leaders holds itself accountable each day to the highest ethical and environmental standards, and commits to actively working toward continuous improvement.
Today, we're proud to offer our first-of-their-kind Sustainability Rated and 100% Climate Neutral gemstone diamonds through a global community of selective retailers, designers, wholesalers, and distributors. In Advanced Materials, our network of culture-shaping partners is expanding, including leading organizations spanning academia and industry.
Our Sustainability Investments include far-reaching, high-impact projects, from supporting Artisanal Scale Mining communities around the world, to funding ICIMOD's Himalayan Climate and Clean Air Project, an ambitious effort to dramatically reduce black carbon and other emissions in this critical ecosystem.
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And we're just getting started. Together, we can make a difference for People and Planet.
Sustainability, defined.
PEOPLE
The responsibility to ensure that all human beings live in dignity in a healthy, equitable environment, where all are free from fear and violence — where our differences and commonalities are celebrated.
PLANET
The responsibility to conserve natural resources, preserve global ecosystems, and take urgent action on climate change — all to support the needs of present and future generations.
WD's Five Pillars of Sustainability
01
FULL ORIGIN TRACEABILITY
A state-of-the-art, independently verified test-and-trace forensic laboratory guarantees diamond provenance and Chain of Custody with 99% accuracy
02
ETHICAL STEWARDSHIP
Each WD diamond is certified to adhere to twelve core ethical principles, ensuring our UN-aligned ESG practices protect workers, communities, and ecosystems
03
THE 5TH C: CLIMATE NEUTRALITY
WD's laboratory grown diamonds are the first to be certified under The 5th C of Climate Neutrality — our current and past climate footprint has been fully offset
04
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION
We are committed to doing no harm to people or planet, and are working toward Net Zero or Net Positive impacts across 100% of all production categories
05
SUSTAINABILITY INVESTMENTS
Our investments equal 18X our emissions, and focus on artisanal scale miners and initiatives including ICIMOD's Himalayan Climate and Clean Air Project
Our Path to Certification
Our journey toward sustainability certification began in October 2019, at the formal kick-off of SCS Global Services’ pilot program for the Jewelry Sustainability Standard — Sustainability Rated Diamonds (SCS-007). Developed through an independent, multi-stakeholder committee, the Standard establishes the world's most stringent benchmark of sustainable accountability, transparency and provenance assurance for the gemstone diamond industry, and is the first unified framework for assessing natural and laboratory grown diamonds.
At the start of the process, WD Lab Grown Diamonds assembled an internal sustainability task-force, spanning all areas of our business, including Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Sales, Marketing, and Human Resources. We dedicated over one year of in-depth work and study, in the process defining and implemented a holistic, multi-year sustainability strategy.
To become the first certified diamond company in the world, we underwent an extensive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) audit through SCS. WD completed a comprehensive, third-party Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) and full review of our operations, data, and anti-corruption policies, among other key categories of the Standard.
For the first time in the diamond industry, we achieved full Chain of Custody tracking and Grown in the USA traceability by rigorously vetting our supply chain, requiring sustainability certification at every step. We went one step further by commissioning a third-party laboratory, in partnership with SCS, to create a forensic fingerprint — or Diamond DNA — of our diamonds. Tracked from seed to stone, each diamond’s girdle is branded and inscribed with a unique identification number that travels with it for its lifetime, guaranteeing provenance with 99% accuracy.
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We're now proud to confirm, through third-party certification, that we have achieved 100% Climate Neutrality on current and legacy emissions, including a net zero carbon footprint. SCS Global Services verified 100% avoidance of impacts on land, freshwater and marine water; net zero impacts on water resources and regional air and water quality; reduction on non-renewable energy and ocean acidification, among other key environmental considerations reviewed in our comprehensive Lifecycle Assessment.
