(IDEX Online) - Environmental responsibility in the jewelry sector will be the focus of a seminar scheduled for January 22, the fourth day of VICENZAORO January 2018, organized by the Italian Exhibition Group and CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation.
"Environmental sustainability, which refers to the ability of biological systems to remain diverse and productive over the course of time, is not generally associated with the world of jewelry, where many of the raw materials have been mined, the show organizers said. "Once removed from the earth, they do not grow back again. But sustainability in general is of critical importance, and in recent years has been approached from a social and economic perspective. This is because the valuable natural resources in jewelry can provide sustainable economic and social opportunities to people and communities in the often-impoverished areas of the world where they are located. "A diamond is forever" even after it is extracted.
"But there are sectors of the jewelry industry, where both the product and the business can be environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. These most often these involve organic materials living in a marine environment, where sustainability is made possible through aquafarming, such as with cultured pearls, and to a lesser degree precious coral.
"Unlike a mine, which has a finite life span, a pearl farm can continue producing indefinitely, on condition that it is responsibly operated. In other words, it is an asset that can be regenerated and sustained, and in turn act as a resource for sustainable economic and social opportunity. Precious coral, in contrast, is harvested from deep water natural reefs. Here, sustainability is maintained mainly by ensuring that production levels remain below the ability of the coral reefs to grow and regenerate on their own. However, research currently is being undertaken to investigate the means of actively restoring precious coral reefs in protected zones.
The blue-ribbon panel that will discuss 'Green and Blue Jewellery, Environmentally Sustainable Luxury' at the seminar at VICENZAORO is made up of leading experts from across the globe. They include Laurent Cartier, SSEF (Basel, Switzerland), co-founder of the Sustainable Pearls Project; Justin Hunter, J. Hunter Pearls (Fiji), and President of the Fiji Pearl Association; Shigeru Akamatsu, Mikimoto Pearls (Japan), and Vice President of the CIBJO Pearl Commission; Jacques Christoff Branellec, Jewelmer Joaillerie (Phillippines) and Vice President of the CIBJO Pearl Commission; and Rui Galopim de Carvalho (Portugal), Vice President of the CIBJO Coral Commission.
The themes of social responsibility and sustainability at VICENZAORO is a joint program of CIBJO and the Italian Exhibition Group, endorsed by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), to support CSR in the international jewelry sector.
The close relationship of the two organizations in support of these principles was confirmed last November with the election of Corrado Facco, General Director of IEG Italian Exhibition Group, as Vice President of CIBJO, with special responsibility for advancing CSR and sustainability, within the context of the development agenda of the United Nations and other international organizations, such as the UN Global Compact. This includes promoting the active participation of the worldwide jewelry and gemstones sectors in helping achieve the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
There will be more than 96,000 visitors at the show from over 130 countries, among them 3,800 of the international jewelry market's leading buyers, hosted by the Italian Ministry of Economy and the Italian Trade Agency, the Italian Exhibition Group said.