Discussing Corporate Social Responsibility with the Jewellery Industry

Getting academics, industries and policy-makers to sit around the same table and make sense of problems is something that doesn’t happen as often as we would like. So it was a pleasure for the team involved in the project “Responsible Business Practices in SMEs: The case of the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter” to have such an opportunity.

Led by Professor Marylyn Carrigan, the CETEB team presented the key findings of their ongoing study on responsible business practices in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter. The seminar, which was entitled “What’s in it for me? Raising Standards in the Jewellery Industry”, was co-hosted with the British Jewellers Association (BJA) and held at the Birmingham Jewellery School on 11^th February 2014. With more than 30 industry practitioners in the audience, the event opened new opportunities and dialogue for the research team to engage further with the jewellery industry and their plans to enhance Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in this sector.

During the event key industry speakers stated that the jewellery industry should adopt a stronger ethical stance and expressed their wish to explore how the jewellery industry can adopt CSR strategies that are specifically suitable for their sector.

“The benefits of adopting CSR at any level are huge” said Simon Rainer, BJA CEO.

“What we need to communicate and discuss further is how companies who may already be adopting some elements of CSR are able to extend their commitment even further and reap even greater benefits. This is really a key component to helping the BJA membership grow their businesses”, he added.

The presentation was well received by all participants and resultant discussions will form the backbone for future CSR work in this industry.