De Beers says it made significant progress on its sustainability goals in 2025, even as the global diamond industry continues to confront economic uncertainty, changing consumer preferences and growing scrutiny of environmental performance. According to the company’s latest sustainability report, the group reduced operational carbon emissions, expanded conservation programmes and increased support for economic diversification in diamond-producing countries.
The report forms part of De Beers’ Building Forever strategy, an effort to demonstrate that natural diamonds generate benefits extending beyond mining revenues. The company reported a 14% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2021, while conservation programmes now cover about 375,000 acres across southern Africa. It also highlighted support for Angola’s first Ramsar Wetland designation, helping protect the headwaters that feed the Okavango Delta.
The company also pointed to progress in traceability, with more than five million rough diamonds individually registered on its blockchain-backed Tracr platform. As competition from laboratory-grown diamonds intensifies, provenance and transparency are becoming increasingly important selling points for the natural diamond industry.
Economic development featured prominently. De Beers said it now supports 2.6 offsite jobs for every job created directly by its operations and has committed approximately US$70 million to Botswana’s Diamonds for Development Fund, which is intended to help accelerate economic diversification.
The company also pointed to progress in traceability, with more than five million rough diamonds individually registered on its blockchain-backed Tracr platform. As competition from laboratory-grown diamonds intensifies, provenance and transparency are becoming increasingly important selling points for the natural diamond industry.
The report nevertheless highlights the challenge facing the sector. For De Beers and its partner governments, sustainability has become more than a corporate responsibility exercise. It is increasingly central to the industry’s argument that natural diamonds retain a distinct value proposition in a market where consumers are demanding evidence of both origin and impact.
