RJC Code of Practices — The Mandatory Standard for All Members
RJC Code of Practices — The Mandatory Standard for All Members
The Responsible Jewellery Council's foundational standard covering ethics, human rights, labour, environment, and product disclosure
The RJC Code of Practices, abbreviated CoP, is the mandatory standard for all members of the Responsible Jewellery Council. It addresses ethical, social, and environmental practice across the full jewellery and watch supply chain — from mining and refining through manufacture to retail. The CoP is the foundation of RJC's assurance framework: members commit to its provisions on joining, achieve certification within two years through independent audit, and undergo re-audit on a three-year cycle. It is the document most often referenced when buyers, lenders, and regulators evaluate a member's responsible-business credentials.
What the Code covers
The current Code addresses several broad areas of practice. The human-rights provisions require members to respect internationally recognised human rights and to conduct due diligence on their operations and supply chains for adverse human-rights impacts. The labour provisions cover freedom of association, working hours, wages, child labour, forced labour, and discrimination, drawing on the International Labour Organization's core conventions. The environmental provisions address management of energy, water, waste, hazardous substances, and biodiversity, with particular attention to mining and refining operations. The product-disclosure provisions require members to disclose treatments, synthetics, and material substitutions in line with international trade-association terminology.
Material scope
The CoP covers gold, silver, platinum-group metals, diamonds, and coloured gemstones — the principal materials of the jewellery and watch trade. Coverage of coloured gemstones was strengthened in successive revisions as the Council coordinated with the International Coloured Gemstone Association and other bodies to develop responsible-sourcing guidance for a notoriously fragmented segment of the supply chain. The CoP does not cover non-precious materials such as costume-jewellery base metals or non-gem industrial diamonds, which fall outside the Council's remit.
Revision cadence
The Code has been revised on an approximately five-year cadence — 2009, 2013, 2019, with further revisions in development. Each revision incorporates developments in international human-rights and environmental frameworks, refines audit-protocol detail, and addresses lessons from accumulated audit experience. Members are given a defined transition period when a new revision is published, during which the previous version remains valid; following the transition, all certifications operate to the new revision.
Audit and certification
CoP certification is achieved through audit by an RJC-accredited independent firm. The audit covers documentation, on-site practice, and management systems. The auditor's report is reviewed by RJC, which issues the certificate. Certificates are valid for three years, with annual surveillance reviews between full re-audits. The audit cost is borne by the member; depending on scope, costs range from several thousand to several tens of thousands of dollars.
In the trade
For luxury groups, listed retailers, and institutional buyers, CoP certification is increasingly a procurement prerequisite. For independent dealers and bench jewellers, the relevance depends on client mix; the audit cost and documentation burden are most readily justified where institutional sales channels are in play. Buyers should distinguish CoP certification from CoC certification — the former addresses how a member operates, the latter the documented provenance of specific material flows.