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For the third year running, the De Beers Group has been declared Overall Winner, and Winner Best Sustainability Reporting in the Resources sector, in the ACCA South Africa Sustainability Reporting Awards, for its Report to Society 2011. The 2009 and 2010 Reports to Society also won first prize in the Resources category, and were the Overall Winners for Best Sustainability Report.

Operating sustainably and responsibly sits at the heart of De Beers’ business strategy. It ensures our continued licence to operate in our producer countries, and underpins consumers’ confidence in the integrity of our product.

In the Judges’ Report, ACCA praised De Beers’ Report to Society, saying, “…there is still not a report in South Africa that can beat this.” The “…staggeringly good…’” risk-based approach taken in thereport was also cited as a key reason for De Beers winning the top Award in each of the last three years.

Commenting on the awards, Philippe Mellier, CEO, said, “It is gratifying that the ACCA judges have again recognised our efforts to report on our commitment to operating responsibly. De Beers has a unique responsibility to our producer partners, our customers and consumers to live up to the values and value of diamonds, and to report on our performance in a robust and transparent way.”

Dr. Nicky Black, Head of Social Performance for De Beers, noted, “Winning these Awards for a third year is a great endorsement of De Beers’ on-going efforts to understand and address the ethical, environmental and social issues that matter most to our stakeholders across the diamond value chain and around the world.”

ACCA has been a driving force in promoting transparency and accountability in reporting on sustainability issues for two decades. The Sustainability Reporting Awards aim to identify excellence and reward innovative attempts to communicate environmental and social corporate performance.

The Report to Society is available for download from www.debeersgroup.com.