If you’ve ever been to New York City during United Nations General Assembly week in September, you know that delegates from all around the world descend on Manhattan to discuss everything from sea-level rise to the elimination of nuclear weapons.
Since 2009, the U.N. gathering has coincided with another event: Climate Week NYC, the largest annual event of its kind, featuring more than 900 happenings and activities intended to help drive climate action.
This year, 35 members of the jewelry industry committed to sustainability attended the first annual Responsible Luxury dinner, a glamorous affair hosted by Lauren Petrovic, founder of Laurenti New York and the Responsible Luxury podcast; SCS Global Services; Monica Stephenson of Anza Gems; and the International Gemological Institute (IGI).
“Climate Week NYC is meant to be advocacy within U.N. General Assembly week and now it has its own gravitational pull,” Tiffany Stevens, chief business officer and head of sustainability at IGI North America, tells JCK. “It has more events than you can shake a stick at, from all different industries. It’s widened from scientists and advocates to people who want to affiliate themselves optically with these issues.
“We did our dinner in response to what feels like a burgeoning energy,” she adds.
Organized as an open concept conversation incubator, the dinner, which was held on Sept. 24 at 19 Dutch, a residential space in Lower Manhattan, was prepared by a Michelin-starred French chef.
“When we curated the guest list, we brought together real stakeholders, people from Signet and Brilliant Earth,” Stevens says. “We also invited people doing real on-the-ground work like Monica in East Africa, and the Cruzeiro guys from Brazil.”
Other guests included Pam Cloud, founder of the sustainable pearl jewelry brand Roseate; diamond industry analyst Paul Zimnisky; Made by Malyia founder Malyia McNaughton; National Jeweler editor-in-chief Michelle Graff; Brilliant Earth cofounder Beth Gerstein; Sara Yood, president, CEO, and general counsel at the Jewelers Vigilance Committee; and Rosena Sammi, founder of The Jewelry Edit.
“I was really happy with how the dinner went,” Stevens says. “A lot of these people had never met. I’m really inspired by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s book What If We Get It Right? She’s a climate scientist giving a more optimistic intersectional look at how we address climate issues. It’s not superficial but it’s very joyful and that matches this moment in American culture. There’s a move toward meaningful action but it has a joyful vibe. And that’s how our dinner felt.”
In Stevens’ opening remarks, she spoke about the group’s framework, which was “to preserve economies, ecologies, and equalities in mining and manufacturing communities worldwide.”
Like Climate Week 2024, which was themed “It’s Time,” the focus of the Responsible Luxury dinner was on taking action, as opposed to simply planning and discussing targets.
Says Stevens: “It’s a vibe shift, as they say.”
Top: The menu for the first annual Responsible Luxury dinner
(All photos by Alex Radomskiy)
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