(PRESS RELEASE) WASHINGTON — WD Lab Grown Diamonds (“WD” or the “Company”), a leading laboratory grown diamond producer in the U.S., announced that it is the first company to be certified under the provisional Certification Standard for Sustainable Diamonds (“SCS 007”). This achievement grants WD third-party authorization to use the claims of ‘Certified Sustainable’ and ‘Certified Climate Neutral’ on their high-quality, As Grown diamonds. The climate neutral designation is an exemplary achievement, representing a level of accountability beyond standard Carbon Neutrality by also measuring, mitigating and offsetting the entire spectrum of greenhouse gases, climate pollutants and legacy emissions.
“We are tremendously proud and humbled to be the first company to achieve sustainable diamond certification,” said Sue Rechner, CEO of WD. “This accomplishment reflects our wholehearted commitment to safeguarding the environment, protecting the human rights of workers and communities, and providing reassurance to the modern consumer with fully traceable, guaranteed conflict-free product.”
The Certification Standard for Sustainable Diamonds establishes the world’s most stringent benchmark of sustainable accountability, transparency and provenance assurance for the gemstone diamond industry, and is the first unified framework for assessing natural and laboratory grown diamonds. The standard’s Chain of Custody provisions are backed by third-party certification that utilizes A.I. enhanced laser ablation testing, which guarantees each diamond’s origin with 99% accuracy. SCS Standards, the non-profit standards development arm of SCS Global Services, facilitated the creation of the standard, now in public review, through an international, multi-stakeholder consensus process involving diamond producers, retailers, academics and NGOs.
“While diamonds have long been associated with luxury, the industry needed a resource to address concerns about the mistreatment of workers, damage to the environment, and promulgation of greenwashing. We felt the time was right to develop a holistic sustainability standard for the diamond sector to help companies doing the right thing to set themselves apart,” said Stanley Rhodes, PhD, founder and president of SCS. “WD’s participation has been invaluable, and we congratulate them on being the first to achieve Sustainability Certification — a testament to their position as an industry trailblazer.”
To achieve certification, WD completed an extensive audit over the past year, undergoing a comprehensive, third-party Lifecycle Assessment (LCA). The Company was measured against 15 core environmental impact categories, and committed to reaching Net Zero Environmental and Human Health Impacts. WD achieved certification based on their demonstrated adherence to the standard’s strict Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) requirements.
News of sustainability certification comes on the heels of WD’s acquisition of pioneering materials science company J2, based out of Chicago, Illinois. As the Company further solidifies its market leadership position and ongoing commitment to innovation, transparency and sustainability, WD will continue its purpose-led transformation under the Latitude brand, coming soon at latitudediamonds.com.