A COP/LGMS critical breach is an event or group of non-acceptable [or zero tolerance] events which materially compromise the integrity of the Responsible Jewellery Council’s mission and its principles.
A COP/LGMS critical breach, supported by objective evidence, is raised against any of the COP/LGMS provisions in the case of:
- Deliberate falsification of information presented to support a conformity grading, a claim or public reporting; or
- Deliberate breach of an obligation (regulatory compliance matter or a commitment such as an RJC requirement) that results in an actual impact, or risk of immediate negative impact for the RJC member, the reputation of the RJC or the industry as a whole. This may fall into the following COP/LGMS areas: Labour/Social conditions/Health & Safety, Environment, Legislation, Management/Grievance systems, Responsible supply chains, Human rights, Due diligence, Mining.
As such, the list of COP/LGMS ‘critical provisions’ was retired, eliminating automated escalation of major nonconformities to critical breaches against these provisions. Criticality was extended to all COP/LGMS provisions, aligning with the COC approach (no change).
Please review the latest version of Appendix 2 – Critical Breach to learn about the changes to the COP/LGMS critical breach definition and access a list of non-exhaustive examples provided under this new definition.