Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but they’re no longer Pandora’s. The global jewelry brand has decided to abandon using natural diamonds in its jewelry in the U.S. and Canada. Instead, it will be using lab-created diamonds, which lower carbon emissions.
“Lab-created diamonds are just as beautiful as mined diamonds, but available to more people and with lower carbon emissions,” said Alexander Lacik, Pandora CEO. “We are proud to broaden the diamond market and offer innovative jewelry that sets a new standard for how the industry can reduce its impact on the planet.”
The lab-created diamonds are grown in the U.S. Pandora pointed out that if all the diamonds in the world were mined with the same low carbon footprint, it would save more than 6 million tons of carbon every year. This is equivalent to making all cars in New York City electric.
Pandora says that lab-created diamonds are identical to mined diamonds, except that they’re grown in a lab: “They have the same optical, chemical, thermal and physical characteristics and are graded by the same standards known as the 4Cs – cut color, clarity and carat.”
The launch follows a successful introduction of lab-created diamonds in the U.K. in 2021.
In addition to the transition to lab-grown diamonds, Pandora will also release its first jewelry collection with 100% recycled silver and gold. The company plans to make all its jewelry from recycled silver and gold by 2025.
This transition is part of the jewelry maker’s commitment to halve its carbon emissions across the whole value chain by 2030. This includes suppliers, franchise partners, transportation, warehousing, packaging, and raw materials. In addition, the company aims to become net zero by 2040.
The Copenhagen, Denmark-based firm said in its 2021 Sustainability Report that those commitments are embedded in its financing instruments. The company has a 2021 agreement linking borrowing costs to progress on two sustainability targets.
Last year, Pandora’s sustainability achievements included the use of 100% man-made stones in its products, as well as the recycling of 97% of its waste at its crafting facilities. It also transitioned to 100% renewable energy at its crafting facilities by using onsite solar generation and purchasing renewable energy certificates.
In 2021, 54% of silver and gold used in its products came from recycled sources. In addition, Pandora is setting up a third-party system to trace its materials across the value chain.
“With our significantly expanded work on sustainability, we are building this important part of the foundation for Pandora’s growth journey,” said Lacik. “This work is about understanding the impacts our business has obtaining the data, establishing policies and guidelines, setting targets, and designing strategies in order for us to take meaningful action and track progress. Our work continues to be guided by, and we remain committed to, the principles of the United Nations Global Compact.”
