Building Forever with De Beers
- ClientDe Beers Group
- Services
- IndustryLuxury
- ProjectJCK (Jewellers Circular Show)
- LocationLas Vegas, USA
In a continuation of our eco-conscious event campaign with global diamond icons De Beers, we activate their Building Forever vision at one of the jewellery industry’s key expos, JCK.
The Diamond standard in sustainably designed brand experience environment
De Beers are passionate about pioneering the ethical, social and environmental standards of their industry and aim to be the diamond standard of conscious business practices. As part of their Building Forever commitments they challenged 2Heads to produce their global show program using the most holistically sustainable methods available.
01
The Brief
Place Sustainability at the Heart of the Show
De Beers appointed 2Heads as their official partner to deliver their international show presence. The premier diamond brand wanted to move away from dis-connected, enclosed and non-welcoming architecture to embrace an open and inviting, showcasing the full De Beers offering. They wanted their environments to be seen in a new modern way with sustainable thinking at its heart to place integrity behind the De Beers ‘Building Forever’ ethos.
De Beers appointed 2Heads as their official partner to deliver their international show presence. The premier diamond brand wanted to move away from dis-connected, enclosed and non-welcoming architecture to embrace an open and inviting, showcasing the full De Beers offering. They wanted their environments to be seen in a new modern way with sustainable thinking at its heart to place integrity behind the De Beers ‘Building Forever’ ethos.
De Beers Jewellers is the pinnacle of diamond luxury and excellence, and their jewellery is glorified through vision and creativity into bold, distinctive designs. They are cut and polished by the world’s finest diamantaires, artisans chosen for their extremely rare skill and craft, and therefore it was of an extreme honour to our creative team to have been chosen as the agency to create and deliver their vision at their international shows, from the Singapore Jewellery & Gem Show to the flagship show, JCK.
At the heart of De Beers is ‘Building Forever’, the company’s commitment to ensure that every diamond they discover creates a lasting positive impact for the people and places where it is found. It was this message that 2Heads focused on when bringing their vision to life so to:
- Showcase to the industry the stability and fortitude of the De Beers Group brand.
- Drive awareness and understanding that De Beers are pioneers when it comes to leading ethical, social and environmental standards.
- Connect directly with JCK delegates and ensure they are immersed in that technology, innovation and of course, the exquisite jewellery that constitutes De Beers world.
De Beers & Building Forever
“To build forever we need to challenge ourselves to do better and push further, which is why we have set ourselves 12 ambitious goals we are determined to achieve by 2030. Our goals concentrate on four clear pillars where we believe we can make a meaningful impact – leading ethical practices, partnering for thriving communities, protecting the natural world and accelerating equal opportunity. These are vitally important not only to our business, but also to our employees, partners and communities across all facets of our operations.”
02
The Challenge
Create a Lasting Partnership between Brand & Sustainability
De Beers needed us to place the ‘Building Forever’ ethos at the heart of their experience. They place the provenance of their diamonds and their ethical practices at the core of their offering, and our event design needed to tell their story of how they partner with thriving communities and protect the natural world, through content and creative construction.
De Beers needed us to place the ‘Building Forever’ ethos at the heart of their experience. They place the provenance of their diamonds and their ethical practices at the core of their offering, and our event design needed to tell their story of how they partner with thriving communities and protect the natural world, through content and creative construction.
De Beers challenged 2Heads to craft an eco-conscious event that perfectly represented their Building Forever 2030 goals. To fully understand the scale of the challenge, DeBeers and the team took important steps through collaboration and workshopping to evolve eco-conscious solutions for their event presence. By embracing a design that utilises the principles of the circular economy and which can be built from recycled materials and reused for the future, DeBeer’s and 2Heads forged a solution that placed their Building Forever ambition at the centre of their long-term goals.
03The Process
Planning
An eco-conscious strategy underpinned every element of the JCK event, from sourcing local materials and significant logistic reductions, to rental systems and recycling policies for end of life resources. This strategy was mapped and referenced using the Trace carbon tracking platform to ensure carbon data was transparent, known and to create benchmarks for further evolution.
Design
De Beers is known for perfection so no stone was unturned or detail forgotten as we designed and produced an experience that executed the high levels of finish expected of one of the world’s leading luxury brands.
Materials
Following the success of our partnership with De Beers in Singapore, our experiential solution blended the use of eco-conscious materials with luxury finishes and cutting edge immersive technologies to engage government and business delegates in the brand world of De Beers.
Built on a reusable sub-structure to minimise waste, the experience used sustainable materials (including OSB, compact cardboard, water-based paint and cork and sisal flooring) and featured planter walls where every plant was later donated locally and replanted.
Technology
Through multiple storytelling touch points, guests could engage with all aspects of De Beers’ integrated business in a succinct, consumable way.
Production
2Heads created an experience that had sustainability at the heart of the creative proposal. Using a refined yet elegant approach allowed us to deliver a unique experience with sustainability re-imagined:
- Eco friendly paints with zero solvents, VOC’s or metals
- The cardboard material used in this counter is a 100% recyclable and biodegradable
- The fabric print on the walls is a blend of recycled polyester from ocean waste
- Material made from large wood shavings OSB is made with resin that contains less formaldehyde than plywood, MDF and particle board
- Polycarbonate sheet fully recyclable at the end of its life is a cost-effective material easy to install and transport
04
Solution
Experience Underpinned by the Environment
De Beers was the most prominent brand at the show and their sustainably executed experience was a central talking point for all that engaged with the brand. By placing their desire to be sustainable at the centre of the event campaign, they transformed people’s opinion of what can be achieved by the luxury industry.
De Beers was the most prominent brand at the show and their sustainably executed experience was a central talking point for all that engaged with the brand. By placing their desire to be sustainable at the centre of the event campaign, they transformed people’s opinion of what can be achieved by the luxury industry.
The Data said:
- Over 30,000 industry professionals from all facets of the jewelry industry attended the event for a week of product sourcing, education, and networking.
- 18,000 guests (up 8% from 2022) from over 100 countries conducted business during the event.
- All carbon tracking was mapping using the Trace carbon measurement platform: https://traceyour.events/. Key statistical results included:
- Furniture Data. 54.7% of the products used for the event were hired locally. 25.7% of products are on a reuse cycle for the show and 19.6% of items were recycled through local donation.
- Mileage. We limited the initial freight deliveries and the runner vans to the local area for procurement, staying under a 220 mile total target.
- Material Use. Over 50% of production materials for display counters, walls and cork flooring was from recycled material. All paint was water-based. 67.5% of all graphic production was also sourced from recycled materials
- Material Stock. Over 4,950 kg of material stock was hired, and 2267 kg were from recycled material. This equated to 85.7% of production build materials used.
- Spread the Word. Education was key to De Beer’s successful strategy to Building Forever within and without the industry. Spread the Word infographics informed guests of the details behind the design, placing their eco-credentials front and centre. The first time this has ever been done at JCK.
The Client said:
‘This is truly a moment shaping the future, not just for De Beers but for the diamond industry. We have some great partners who put magic in it, so we were very confident that we would do it!’
Sachin Jain | MD, De Beers India
‘Best booth in the show and everything is sustainable! The cork flooring is natural and no trees were damaged. The paint on the walls is 100% natural… So when we talk about building forever, we talk about making sure it influences every decision we make.’
David Prager | Chief Brand Officer De Beers Group
The Guests said:
‘My understanding of what De Beers have done, and where they are, is still far above what I know their competitors are doing. To see different the different layers they are building upon here, it’s very impressive. It talks to people about sustainability and about saving our planet.’
Guest of De Beers Group at JCK
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