Tiffany & Co. Launches Corporate Responsibility Report

(IDEX Online News) – Tiffany & Co. yesterday (Monday) launched its first web-based Corporate Responsibility Report. The report details the company’s Fiscal Year 2010 sustainability performance and provides insight into Tiffany’s standards and operations regarding the sourcing of precious materials.

Developed in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative’s voluntary sustainability reporting framework, the online report will be updated annually. Future reports will show progress and year over year performance comparisons.  

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was engaged to provide limited assurance on select metrics set forth in the Corporate Responsibility Report.

“Our position as a leader in the luxury jewelry market gives us the opportunity and the responsibility to set an example for the industry and to conduct our business in a manner that is consistent with our core beliefs – protection of the environment, respect for human rights and support for the communities in which we do business,” said Tiffany & Co. chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski.

The report covers all aspects of the company’s materials sourcing, its work with non-governmental organizations in helping to improve mining standards and its investment in employee and development training programs at Tiffany & Co. diamond cutting and polishing facilities in Belgium, Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa and Vietnam.

The report also states that the company’s iconic Tiffany Blue bags and boxes are manufactured with materials certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an independent, nongovernmental organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. Catalogues are also produced using more than 99 percent FSC-certified materials.

According to the report, through The Tiffany & Co. Foundation and corporate giving programs, the company donated close to 2 percent of pre-tax earnings to charitable purposes in 2010.

The company also said it has joined the United Nations Global Compact, a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption and uses the report to communicate on its progress.