Rio Tinto Diamonds' Business Excellence Model (BEM), launched in India in 2003, offers a set of management tools to enable organisations to manage their business risks and improve their performance. In particular, it enhances standards in the Indian diamond and jewellery industry in four key areas:
Health and safety
Environmental standards
Social responsibility
Quality management
Certification is offered to our rough diamonds manufacturing customers, enabling them to improve international acceptance of their products and to increase their market share. BEM certification will drive safety, product assurance, quality management and continuous improvement in the diamond and jewellery manufacturing industries and retail trade in India.
All Rio Tinto Diamonds' Indian-based Select Diamantaires are participating in the BEM certification programme. The BEM provides assurance that the companies cutting Rio Tinto-supplied diamonds are meeting appropriate standards, which, in turn, allows retailers and customers to be similarly assured.
Rigorous auditing of the BEM programme is undertaken by DNV, an international certification organisation, which also provides comprehensive compliance testing once certification is awarded.
It is Rio Tinto Diamonds' objective to further widen the scope and strengthen the relevance of BEM in the coming years.
