Whistleblower Act

In 2023, the so-called Whistleblower Act came into force. This means various industries (including the diamond industry) need to set up an internal reporting channel ("Whistleblowing Channel") for employees to be able to report legal breaches of any kind. This way a company also demonstrates integrity and transparency by implementing a so-called "speak-up" culture where employees can report serious dysfunctions or breaches confidentially without fear of retaliation.

AWDC embraces the speak-up culture and strongly encourages upholding highly ethical standards in the diamond industry. Therefore AWDC has invested in setting up a whistleblowing channel where internal reports can be submitted in a confidential and even anonymous way. The main principle of the Whistleblowing channel is the protection of the Whistleblower. Breaches falling within the material scope of this Policy may be reported by all employees active in the Belgian diamond industry. AWDC guarantees that reports will be handled in a professional and impartial manner. Via this internal reporting channel, every suspected or actual breach against the topics listed in Annex 1 of the AWDC whistleblowing policy (see under) can be reported by a whistleblower. Every report is received by the Whistleblowing Officer of AWDC who will treat it diligently and in a timely manner. AWDC provides the possibility to report a breach in writing, via the web based platform:

diamondintegrity.grantthornton-whistle.com and this 24/7 in several languages.

Want to know more about the whistleblowing regulations and/or need a template of the AWDC whistleblowing policy click here.