De Beers Reports 2024 Sustainability Progress: Emissions Down, Renewable Energy Expansion, and Blockchain Traceability
Diamond mining giant De Beers has reported significant progress in its 2024 Sustainability Report, highlighting achievements in emission reduction, renewable energy development, biodiversity conservation, community impact, and diamond provenance.
Since 2021, De Beers has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 7% and continues to pursue its 2030 targets of cutting Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% and Scope 3 emissions by 25%.
Key initiatives include:
Partnering with Envusa Energy to finance wind and solar plants in South Africa, which will supply 100% of the Venetia mine’s electricity needs from 2025.
Advancing 248 MW of renewable projects in planning, including Botswana’s Mmadinare solar PV project.
Launching alternative fuel studies in Botswana and Namibia, such as a tyre-derived fuel project through a planned pyrolysis plant in South Africa, and biodiesel trials with Sasol and Anglo American.
Collaborating with its top 100 strategic partners to create Scope 3 emissions reduction roadmaps.
Conservation and Biodiversity
De Beers managed 375,000 acres of land for conservation in 2024, supporting critical habitats for endangered species. Highlights include:
Relocating ten white rhinos from Botswana to South Africa as part of a rewilding project.
Supporting seabird conservation through the Namdeb-Debmarine Foundation, which is helping protect the endangered African Penguin.
Social and Economic Contributions
De Beers contributed $2.9 billion in tax and economic value in 2024, including $1.7 billion spent on local procurement (74% of total procurement spend).
The company also recorded its best-ever safety performance, with a total recordable injury frequency rate of 1.2.
High-impact community programmes included:
EntreprenHER, with UN Women, supporting over 500 women entrepreneurs to date, with a target of 1,500 more by 2027.
Stanford SEED, backing entrepreneurs across Southern Africa, which has helped create 3,400 jobs since 2018.
The creation of a ten-year Diamonds for Development Fund in partnership with the government of Botswana, tied to a new Debswana sales agreement and mining licences.
To strengthen consumer confidence in responsibly sourced natural diamonds, De Beers expanded its Tracr blockchain platform in 2024.
Since 2022, nearly three million diamonds have been registered on the platform, which now verifies both rough-to-rough and rough-to-polished stones.
This allows producers, suppliers, and retailers to provide customers with detailed country-of-origin and traceability information, enhancing assurance throughout the diamond value chain.
De Beers’ Best Practice Principles Assurance Programme, running since 2005, continued in 2024 with independent ESG assessments covering 274,000 people in 79 countries.
Embedding Sustainability in Business
De Beers Brands & Diamond Desirability CEO Sandrine Conseiller emphasized that sustainability is central to the company’s mission:
“We are not just powering our operations more sustainably; we are helping to build infrastructure that benefits communities.
When customers choose a De Beers natural diamond, they are helping to shape a brighter future for the people and places behind it.”
