Goals and Objectives
By acting together, the Swiss Better Gold Association and its partners embrace the opportunity to significantly increase the volume of artisanal and small-scale mined gold to the market, and in doing so advance the economic and social wellbeing of ASGM operations and their communities. The positive impact of this collaboration far exceeds that which any organisation could achieve while on its own. Partners recognise that greater co-operation is in the best interests of all parties, ASGM miners and their communities.
This collaboration demonstrates that, when carried out responsibly, the ASM gold sector can provide a community-based and environmentally sound livelihood to some of the poorest communities in the world. It also helps raise awareness on the existing challenges prevailing in the ASGM sector that, when not adequately managed, can be extremely damaging for the communities and the environment.
Partnerships
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
Switzerland is one of the most important commodity trading centres in the world. It is also the world leader in gold refining, watch and jewellery making, and home to many financial institutions. Hence, it plays a remarkable role in the worldwide gold supply chain. Likewise, Swiss Cooperation has a long history supporting different development initiatives, which places Switzerland in a privileged position as a competent and appreciated partner promoting sustainable gold production.
Due to the growing importance of the sector in terms of domestic and foreign policy, the Federal Council started to publish a commodity report (in 2013 and 2018) with several recommendations to strengthen transparency, competitiveness, innovation; sustainability and dialogue for the sector. It established the interdepartmental platform on commodities and it supports several tools and initiatives to implement the recommendations, one of which is the Better Gold Initiative.
Arising from a wish to improve the situation of artisanal and small-scale gold miners, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Swiss Better Gold Association have developed a public-private partnership named the Swiss Better Gold Initiative for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining. Set up in 2013, the Swiss Better Gold Initiative became a pioneer solution with the purpose of generating transparency, responsibility and profitability in the ASM gold sector.
Memberships
ISEAL
Since January 2023, Swiss Better Gold is an ISEAL community member.
ISEAL is a global network, which focusses on supporting sustainability systems through:
- defining credible practice for sustainability systems based on emerging global consensus
- convening forums for collaboration, sharing of experience and collective action
- delivering expertise, advice, and training
- facilitating and promoting innovation to strengthen sustainability systems.
ISEAL’s community members make up a global network of sustainability organisations across a 100 countries and various sectors reaching from forestry and seafood to biomaterials and extractives. As an ISEAL community member, Swiss Better Gold has access to valuable resources and knowledge on sustainability systems, which allows for a constant reflection on Swiss Better Gold’s approach and possible improvements. Being part of the ISEAL community furthermore offers the possibility to maintain a constant exchange with the other members, learning and sharing experiences.
Collaboration with Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS)
The Swiss Better Gold Association and its' Swiss Better Gold Initiative collaborate with certification organisations, like the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), which establishes and maintains widely recognised Volunteer Sustainability Standard (VSS) certification.
Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC)
Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) is the world’s leading standard-setting organisation for the jewellery and watch industry. It was founded in 2005 by 14 member organisations and has since grown to over 1,250 global business members, large and small, across 71 countries. RJC is a platform for catalysing change and building positive impact through the supply chains of its members, and provides a forum to share leadership perspectives, exchange ideas and find solutions to shared challenges on sustainability.
Ever since its inception in 2005, RJC has striven to maintain an open, continuous and transparent dialogue between its members and a wide network of stakeholders, one of which is the Swiss Better Gold Association and its Swiss Better Gold Initiative for ASM.
This collaboration is based on a mutual recognition of the most critical Environmental, Social and Government (ESG) topics and a wish to collectively accelerate progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Further, both the RJC and the Swiss Better Gold Association share an appreciation of the importance of a continuous improvement approach while tackling the challenge of ASGM inclusion in global supply chains. Driven by a practical and pragmatic approach on the ground, this collaboration is conducive to establishment of sustainable, reliable and resilient value chains from producing ASGM partners in selected countries to the downstream players representing the watch and jewellery industry.
As fellow partners, the RJC and the Swiss Better Gold Association recognise the opportunity to work closely together for achieving a better future for all.
