Fostering Nature and Inclusiveness: WJI 2030’s Roadmap for a Sustainable Jewelery Industry

The Initiative began with a sector-wide needs assessment to identify the most material issues for the watch and jewellery sector, with a strong emphasis on nature conservation, biodiversity and inclusiveness. In January 2024, a baseline survey was launched— designed by Boston Consulting Group, BSR, and The Biodiversity Consultancy—to take stock of progress. Completed by all members, the survey gathered over 80 data points to assess current efforts across the three pillars of climate, resource preservation and fostering inclusiveness, as well as maturity in ESG reporting and disclosure. The results highlight-ed challenges, opportunities and needs across different parts of the value chain, helping to define clear priorities for the sector and guide the Initiative’s next steps. 

This process culminated in the launch of the Nature Roadmap in June 2024. While it was intended for companies operating in the watch and jewellery sector, the Initiative has already received feedback from organizations and companies from other sectors as well, who have read and used it. The Roadmap provides companies with clear milestones, best practices and sciencebased targets to guide their transition toward a nature-positive future, while ensuring alignment with global sustainability frameworks.

Stakeholders played a central role in shaping the Initiative. Civil society organizations, NGOs, investors, industry associations and local communities all contributed insights on ecosystem risks, water scarcity factors and supply chain dependencies. These contributions helped refine priorities, build trust and foster shared ownership of the project. The Roadmap was therefore designed not only as a technical guide but also as a collective vision for the entire industry

Recognizing the importance of credibility, WJI 2030 reinforced its governance structures with transparent roles, clear decision-making procedures and monitoring mechanisms. Leadership from frontrunner brands such as Kering, Cartier and Chanel— who brought over a decade of experience in sustainability topics—was instrumental in inspiring and guiding other companies across the sector. This combi-nation of strong governance and visible leadership created confidence both within the industry and among external partners.

The Roadmap was deliberately anchored to international frameworks on climate, nature and human rights, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and efforts by WWF, IUCN, WBCSD, WEF, TNFD and others. This ensured that the tools developed were credible, science-based and responsive to evolving regulatory and stakeholder expectations.

To move from strategy to implementation, WJI 2030 launched the Nature Action Playbook, a practical guide with 20 concrete steps supported by templates, dedicated guidance and expected outcomes. Each step covers areas such as strategy, governance, resourcing and materiality assessments. The Playbook was designed to be accessible to companies of all sizes, including SMEs with limited capacity. 

One of the central actions was the development and pilot implementation of the Nature Action Playbook, which is currently being tested with WJI 2030 member companies. The pilot follows a three-stage process. First, the guidance was created and intro-duced to members through webinars and interactive help desk sessions, allowing companies to clarify doubts from the outset. In the second stage, companies began to use the Playbook independently, while continuing to receive support from techni-cal experts via regular help desk sessions. In the final phase, the Initiative is work-ing closely with various types of member companies to assess how they apply the Playbook, identify challenges and document solutions. These insights will be used to refine the Playbook before it becomes open-source, ensuring that the final guidance is practical, user-friendly and grounded in real company experiences.

Moreover, it has been embedded into a digital platform that combines progress reporting aligned with evolving regulations and capacity-building resources. This simplified implementation and account-ability while providing hands-on support, such as regular help desk sessions with technical experts.

Beyond internal action, WJI 2030 has actively promoted the Nature Roadmap through global platforms such as Business for Nature. By positioning the Roadmap as a living document, updated at least once a year, WJI 2030 ensures it evolves with new scientific knowledge, regulatory changes and user feedback—while also serving as a reference point across the industry and beyond.