AM Edition: Here are the top 10 politics articles on LiveNews.co.nz for October 13, 2026 – Full Text
1. Government ambitious for every child’s education
October 12, 2026
Source: New Zealand Government
Thank you, Prime Minister.
Over the past three years, we have been focused on one overriding objective: lifting educational achievement for every young New Zealander. And a huge part of that has been closing the equity gap, ensuring that your means do not determine your destiny by providing a world-leading education for every young person in our schools.
Because we are ambitious for every child in this country.
A world-leading education system starts with ensuring every child learns to read, write and do maths well. It means giving teachers a clear, knowledge-rich curriculum and the tools and support they need to teach it. It means regular assessment and ongoing investment in our learning support system to ensure that falling behind doesn’t mean staying behind.
For too long, declining achievement was met with excuses when it should have been met with action.
We are undertaking an ambitious reform programme.
We have not been prepared to sit back, commission reports that are never acted on, and watch another dot point appear on a graph of educational decline and make more excuses, wishing, years later, that we had done better.
Because each dot point on that graph of decline represents tens of thousands of children. Children who get one chance at school, and whose futures depend on us getting this right.
This demands urgency. It demands action grounded in evidence and the determination to see it through.
And that is what we have done. And I am incredibly grateful to have a Prime Minister who got into politics for this very reason, to give our kids a brighter future, and has backed me all the way.
The Prime Minister has outlined what we have delivered. We are now seeing encouraging early improvements for the first time in many years. Parents are noticing it, teachers are reporting it, children can feel it.
There is still a long way to go. But these early results show that what we are doing is working. Now is the time to build on that progress. We cannot afford to go backwards.
We’ve made significant changes in primary education. And our ambition cannot stop there. Now we’re undertaking the most substantial reform of senior secondary education in a generation.
I want to be very clear. NCEA is not delivering. We are replacing it.
NZQA’s own advice exposed the problem with NCEA: too many students collecting disconnected credits to get across the line.
Our young people deserve better than a low bar.
The decision is made and the work is underway. We are building the new qualifications, finalising the curriculum and getting on with delivering a better system for our young people.
Today, we are taking the next step.
Currently, many students turn 16 partway through Year 11 and when they do they are free to leave school.
I don’t believe we should be accepting this as the standard for our kids.
A re-elected National Government will raise school leaving requirements by requiring students to complete Year 11.
For students who turn 16 during Year 11, that will mean staying at school and finishing the year. For students who turn 16 during Year 12, the requirement will remain that they stay until their 16th birthday.
This is a measured, practical change. But it’s an important one.
Our expectation is clear: students should complete that important year of learning.
Because our changes to the national curriculum will mean that from 2028, Year 11 will include compulsory English, maths and science, with students sitting the Foundational Award in literacy and numeracy at the end of the year.
We want students to have the time to build those skills, consolidate their learning and demonstrate their achievement. Because literacy and numeracy are not optional extras. They are essential life skills.
They are what allow someone to understand instructions, communicate effectively, manage money, complete training, solve problems and participate confidently in the workforce. And they underpin success in almost every other area of learning.
I want every young New Zealander to leave school with those foundations firmly in place.
We are strengthening what students learn. We must also give them the time to learn.
The existing early leaving exemption will remain for the very small number of students each year who go into further training or work.
More Time Learning also means making better use of the school calendar.
Parents have told us how frustrating it is when different schools have different start and finish dates. For families with children at more than one school, that can mean additional childcare arrangements, more time off work and unnecessary disruption.
We will establish consistent start and end of year dates to give parents more certainty.
Ultimately, everything we’re doing comes back to two principles that have guided my work as Education Minister: excellence and equity.
When we have low expectations, unclear curricula and qualifications that don’t consistently recognise achievement, it is often the most disadvantaged students who miss out.
That’s why a knowledge-rich curriculum matters.
That why a focus on teaching the basics brilliantly an hour a day matters.
That’s why evidence based reading instruction matters.
That’s why consistent assessment and meaningful qualifications matter.
And that’s why giving young people sufficient time to learn matters.
Our job is to build an education system that gives every student, regardless of their background, the opportunity to achieve their potential.
An education system where excellence is expected, achievement is recognised and young people have genuine choices about their future.
Over the past three years, we’ve laid the foundations for a fundamentally stronger education system. The tide is turning, achievement is lifting, and together we are working to build a better future for the next generation.
Thank you.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/10/12/government-ambitious-for-every-childs-education/
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2. Damning report shows Teaching Council failed to protect children
October 13, 2026
Source: New Zealand Government
A damning new independent review has revealed how repeated failures by the Teaching Council allowed a teacher with a known history of offending to remain in the profession before he went on to commit indecent acts against children, Minister of Education Erica Stanford says.
The independent regulatory review undertaken by Katherine Anderson KC follows the equally damning 2025 Debbie Francis review, which exposed a deeply concerning culture within the Teaching Council.
“First and foremost, my thoughts are with the children who were subjected to horrific abuse, and with their families. They should have been protected, and they were badly let down.”
The Teaching Council is a statutory body responsible for registering teachers, issuing practising certificates, regulating teacher conduct, and upholding professional standards. Until 2026 it operated independently of the Government.
“The Debbie Francis review found the Council did not see itself as a regulator, lacked the appropriate regulatory expertise and had failed to put child protection at the centre of its work.
“Instead, its focus had shifted towards ‘building the mana of teachers’ and ‘being liked by the profession’.
“Today’s report shows the devastating consequences of a regulator that lost sight of its most important responsibilities.”
The Katherine Anderson KC review found that the Teaching Council had at least 10 opportunities over more than a decade to act against Timothy Fisher, including in 2015 when it was made aware of his earlier convictions for indecency.
“Despite having the powers available to intervene, the Council repeatedly failed to take the action necessary to prevent this man from continuing to work as a teacher.
“Fisher went on to commit appalling crimes against children. He is now in prison after being convicted of indecently assaulting nine girls, attempting to make four intimate visual recordings, possessing thousands of objectionable images and making hundreds of objectionable images.
“The Anderson report found the Council failed to investigate concerns, ask the right questions, seek legal advice or act promptly. The result was years of delay, during which Fisher remained a registered teacher.
“This is an extraordinary failure of both child protection and professional regulation.
“Parents put their trust in the Teaching Council to ensure their children are safe at school, and teachers trust the Council to uphold the high standards of their profession.
“By focusing on being liked by the profession, the Council has failed both parents and teachers.
“The reputation of our teaching profession is protected by having strong professional standards, enforcing them, and removing people who should not be working with children.”
The Government acted swiftly and decisively following the Debbie Francis findings, Ms Stanford said.
“We strengthened oversight and accountability, placed child safety at the centre of the Council’s statutory purpose, transferred responsibility for setting professional standards to the Ministry of Education, and ensured all Governing Council members are ministerially appointed, with the appropriate skills and expertise in child protection and regulatory systems.
“We also introduced stronger Ministry monitoring and reporting requirements and required the Council to give effect to Government policy directions, while retaining its independence in individual regulatory decisions.
“I have issued a clear letter of expectations requiring the Council to implement the recommendations of these reviews and report regularly on its progress.
“Following the receipt of the draft Anderson review, Cabinet has also agreed to progress changes to the Clean Slate legislation to further strengthen the information available for criminal background checks.
“There is significant work ahead to rebuild trust and confidence in the Teaching Council, but I have absolute confidence in the new board members I have appointed.
“They bring the right mix of skills and expertise in child protection, regulation, governance, finance and risk, and understand the fundamental change that is required.
“They have already responded to my letter of expectations with an action plan setting out how they will address these failures, and I will hold them to account for delivering on that plan.”
The Anderson report can be found at
Independent Regulatory Review of Timothy Fisher case
Changes implemented
October 2026 – Cabinet this week approved changes to the Clean Slate legislation, meaning the Police will be able to provide the Teaching Council with additional information about previous convictions when it conducts a criminal background check.
May 2026 – An Amendment Paper to the Education Reform Bill (ERB) was introduced, proposing additional amendments to improve the effectiveness and accountability of the Teaching Council and public confidence in it, in response to the Debbie Francis review:
Elevating the role of child safety within the Council’s statutory purpose.
Strengthening reporting and monitoring arrangements.
Requiring the Council to give effect to Government policy directions, while preserving its independence in individual decisions.
Updating Council membership settings, including a seven-to-nine-member board appointed by the Minister, and enabling the removal of members at the Minister’s discretion in a similar manner to other ministerially appointed boards.
Introducing term limits for the Chief Executive.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/10/13/damning-report-shows-teaching-council-failed-to-protect-children/
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3. Greens’ youth jobs guarantee is the action young workers need NZCTU
October 12, 2026
Source: NZCTU
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi welcomes the Green Party’s Youth Jobs Guarantee, which would give every 16- to 24-year-old who has been out of work for six months a pathway into a local job.
“Young people are being locked out of work at one of the most important stages of their lives. When the job market is failing a generation, government has a responsibility to step in, and that is exactly what this policy does,” says Sandra Grey, NZCTU President.
“Since the last election, the youth unemployment rate has climbed from 10.8 percent to 16.6 percent. That’s around 24,600 more young people out of work than at the end of 2023, an increase of more than 50 percent.
“Young Māori and Pasifika workers are being hit hardest, with youth unemployment rates of 24.6 percent and 26.5 percent.
“The number of young people not in employment, education, or training has grown by 17,700 under Luxon’s Government, up 23.1 percent, with the NEET rate rising from 11.7 percent to 13.8 percent. Time spent out of work and study early in life can follow young people for years, with lower pay and fewer opportunities.
“Luxon’s Government has responded by blaming young people,” says Grey. “They’re tightening benefit sanctions and means-testing 18- and 19-year-olds on their parents’ income instead of creating the conditions for job growth.
“Our recent report, Three years of pain, called for direct public and community job creation where the market has failed to provide work. The Greens’ plan does just that by scaling up the Mayors’ Taskforce for Jobs across all 67 councils to get 32,000 young people into local work and building on the proven success of Jobs for Nature.
“Crucially, every job under the guarantee must be additional, so no young person will be used to replace an existing worker. This is about creating new, decent work not undercutting the jobs people already have.
“There is a lot of work that needs doing: maintaining our infrastructure, restoring our environment, and staffing our community services. Under this plan, people in each community decide what that work is.
“Young workers deserve a government that backs them into good jobs, not one that sits back while unemployment climbs.”
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/10/12/greens-youth-jobs-guarantee-is-the-action-young-workers-need-nzctu/
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4. NZ’s Golden Visa Billions at Risk as Private Banking Infrastructure Lags Global Rivals – Experts
October 12, 2026
Source: SFS Private Wealth
Billions of dollars attracted to New Zealand through the Active Investor Plus programme could be repatriated offshore from 2028 unless the country develops private banking infrastructure capable of competing with global wealth centres, with proposed tax changes alone unlikely to retain the capital, an international finance expert warns.
Dr Sharad Nair says New Zealand has successfully attracted a new generation of high-net-worth migrants through its golden visa programme, but risks losing a much larger opportunity to manage their wider global wealth as the first Growth-category investors begin reaching the end of their mandatory three-year investment periods.
His warning comes as Inland Revenue consults on how New Zealand’s tax-residency rules apply to AIP visa holders, with submissions set to close on October 13, and as proposed changes to the foreign investment fund regime progress through Parliament.
Dr Nair says greater tax certainty and more competitive tax settings are important, but will not be enough if New Zealand cannot provide wealthy migrants with private banking services comparable with those available internationally.
He says the challenge now is to turn the initial AIP investment into a much broader financial relationship with New Zealand.
“The fact is when due diligence is being done on these individuals, Immigration New Zealand knows what their wealth looks like and knows that only a small piece of it is coming in,” he says.
“From there on, you need to build platforms for them to interact with the opportunity.”
Dr Nair says the success of the revised visa has accelerated the arrival of globally mobile wealth faster than New Zealand’s private banking infrastructure might otherwise have developed, leaving the sector playing catch-up while the first investors move closer to the end of their compulsory investment periods.
Dr Nair, founder and board member of SFS Private Wealth and himself an AIP visa holder who has spent more than two decades in international private banking and was part of Dubai’s early development as a global wealth centre, says New Zealand’s strategy now needs to shift from attraction to retention.
Almost $5 billion has been committed or is progressing through the investment pipeline under the revised programme. Immigration New Zealand figures show $2.72 billion in capital had been committed and transferred by September 2, with a further $2.215 billion in the pipeline.
Growth-category applicants must invest at least $5 million for three years, while Balanced applicants must invest at least $10 million for five years. The revised settings came into effect in April 2025, meaning the first Growth-category investment periods can begin expiring from 2028.
SFS Wealth co-founder Sunny Nair says retaining the migrants and retaining their wealth are two different challenges.
“I think retaining people and retaining money are two different things,” he says.
“New Zealand sells itself really well… The question is, are we in a place to retain them as well as their money?”
Nair says many AIP investors see the mandatory investment as the cost of securing residency rather than the start of a wider financial relationship with New Zealand.
“Most people who come in on AIP don’t think of the $5 million or $10 million as an investment. They think of it as an expense,” he says.
“They’re saying, ‘I want to move to New Zealand. Where does the money need to go?’ Once that’s done, the box is ticked and they’ve moved.”
The larger economic opportunity, he says, lies in what happens to the remainder of their wealth.
“They have 50, they have 100, they have 500 million, whatever they have. How do I engage them into New Zealand Inc and have that money circulating in the NZ economy?
“Investor migrants typically have wealth well above the minimum visa thresholds, although there is limited public New Zealand data showing exactly how much additional capital they bring with them.
“What we do know is that the average investor migrant brings around 2.5 times the required investment into New Zealand,” he says.
Nair says capturing even a relatively small proportion of that additional wealth could materially increase the economic value of the programme without requiring New Zealand to attract another migrant.
He says New Zealand has already proved it can compete for wealthy migrants despite investors having access to golden visa programmes in jurisdictions such as Malta and Portugal, but the competitive landscape changes once they arrive.
When New Zealand seeks to attract more than the mandatory visa investment, it is competing with established wealth centres including Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, London and Switzerland, as well as some of the world’s largest private banks.
“Competition isn’t other wealth managers in New Zealand, it’s JP Morgan Private Banking, it’s UBS, it’s Julius Baer, it’s all these international institutions who are banking these clients on their home turf,” Nair says.
“Because the five million is a minimum requirement, to win any more money than that, you suddenly have to be competitive against some really big names and some really established competition.”
Dr Nair says New Zealand’s private wealth sector today reminds him of Dubai when he arrived there in 1996, before the emirate developed into a major international financial centre.
“When I moved into Dubai, the wealth management business in Dubai was pretty much what wealth management business today is in New Zealand,” he says.
At the time, wealthy Middle Eastern clients were commonly serviced by “briefcase bankers” flying in from London, Geneva and Zurich, before Dubai developed the institutions, specialist expertise and infrastructure needed to manage international wealth locally.
Dr Nair says New Zealand already has many of the ingredients needed to follow a similar path, including rule of law, low corruption, institutional stability and an international reputation for trust and safety.
“We could be known for our banks. We could be known for banking. We could be known as the world’s global hub for safety,” he says.
Nair says those attributes are the foundations on which financial centres such as Switzerland and Singapore have been built.
“The business of banking or the business of wealth management is the business of trust. So we’ve already got all the secret ingredients. We just need to put it together.”
Nair says New Zealand needs a broader private wealth sector capable of connecting international capital with investment opportunities here.
“We don’t just want to build a business, we want to build an industry,” he says.
“AIP is slightly more complicated because what it requires is a globally competitive ecosystem. New Zealand has it. It’s just fractured.”
Private banking provides wealthy individuals and families with highly tailored advice across areas such as global investment portfolios, lending, wealth structuring and succession planning, but the underlying assets do not all need to be invested in New Zealand.
An investor could hold assets across the US, Europe and Asia while their advice, portfolio management and wider banking relationship are based here, allowing New Zealand to participate in managing international wealth without requiring that capital to be invested solely in domestic assets.
SFS Private Wealth grew out of the Nair family’s own experience of relocating to New Zealand through investor migration and identifying a gap for the bespoke private wealth services available in established international financial centres.
“We’re missing the infrastructure and platforms needed to support this market. That’s really the gap we built SFS to help address,” Nair says.
Operating in the wealth management space since September 2025, the firm has grown to more than 20 staff, is working with dozens of AIP investors and says it has ‘significant assets’ under management.
SFS is also establishing an office in Dubai to take New Zealand investment opportunities directly to international investors, including those who have no intention of migrating here.
“We’re taking New Zealand opportunities right to their doorstep. Let’s sell it to them in their living room,” Nair says.
He says the longer-term opportunity is to attract global capital into and through New Zealand rather than limiting the market to investors seeking residency.
Dr Nair says competing for ultra-high-net-worth families also requires infrastructure beyond financial services, citing a recent conversation with a billionaire who had moved from London to Dubai and told him he had not considered New Zealand because he would be unable to bring the staff who manage his household and affairs.
“He said, ‘I have an entourage of people that look after me. I wouldn’t get work visas for them,’” Dr Nair says, adding that the investor has since bought a US$50 million villa in Dubai.
“We have visas for your pilot, your crew, your everyone, so they can continue. Singapore is also possible,” he says.
Dr Nair says the billionaire’s experience highlights the wider challenge facing New Zealand as it moves from attracting wealthy migrants to building long-term relationships with them.
Having successfully brought a new generation of international investors into the country, Dr Nair says the next test is whether New Zealand can retain their initial capital, capture a greater share of their global wealth and develop the infrastructure needed to compete with established international financial centres.
Nair says his own experience provides one example of the wider economic potential, with his required AIP investment followed by other investments in New Zealand and the establishment of SFS Wealth in Auckland.
The risk is that New Zealand fails to build those relationships before the first Growth-category investors reach the end of their mandatory investment periods, with Dr Nair saying Government can help create the right settings while the private sector develops the platforms and expertise needed to compete for that capital.
Having successfully attracted a new generation of wealthy international investors, Dr Nair says New Zealand’s next test will be whether it can retain their capital, capture a greater share of their global wealth and develop into an international centre for managing it.
Dr Sharad Nair
Dr Sharad Nair is founder and board member of SFS Private Wealth and has more than 20 years’ experience in international private banking. He has worked with institutions including Julius Baer, Barclays and Citibank across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe, advising sovereign funds, global corporates, multi-generational families and entrepreneurs. He is also involved with a number of international investment, philanthropic and entrepreneurial ventures and remains active in venture capital.
Sunny Nair
Sunny Nair is Associate Director, Offshore Wealth Management at SFS Private Wealth and was part of the firm’s foundation team. He has an international background spanning Singapore, Dubai and London and combines legal expertise with experience in cross-border investment and wealth management. He holds an LLB (Hons) from King’s College London and a Master of Laws in Corporate and Commercial Law from the University of Auckland. At SFS, he focuses on helping international clients and external asset managers use New Zealand as a base for global investment.
About SFS Wealth
SFS Private Wealth is a boutique New Zealand wealth management firm offering independent advice, global reach, and personalised strategies for high-net-worth individuals, offshore clients, and those relocating via investor visa programmes. The firm pairs world-class investment insight with agile, client-centric service. For more information, visit sfspw.co.nz
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5. Election 2026: AIP tweaks to incentivise investors
October 12, 2026
Source: New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty
October 12, 2026
A New Zealand real estate leader is calling on the incoming Government to consider lowering the Active Investor Plus property purchase threshold in some regions.
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty (NZSIR) co-founder and managing director Mark Harris says lowering the current $5 million minimum in specific regions, such as Wellington, could be a prudent move for 2027.
“Since the AIP exemption came into effect in March this year, there have been only 174 residential transactions above the $5 million threshold – 32 of which have sold to AIP buyers,” he says. “If the policy objective is to attract greater overseas investment into NZ, there is an opportunity to review whether the current settings are delivering that outcome.”
Harris says one approach would be to consider a lower threshold in regions outside of Auckland and the Southern Lakes, where approximately 75% of qualifying transactions have occurred to date.
“A more regionally targeted model could help attract investment into markets facing softer conditions – such as Wellington – while supporting economic activity and improving sales opportunities for Kiwi vendors,” he says.
Another option could be to introduce a regionally adjusted threshold based on local property values. For example, the gateway value could be linked to a multiple of each region’s median house price. In Queenstown, where the median value is approximately $1.75 million, a 300% multiplier would create a threshold of around $5.25 million. In Wellington, where the median value is closer to $1 million, the equivalent threshold would be $3 million.
“This would preserve the intent of the policy while creating a more level playing field across different markets,” Harris adds.
Harris says NZ can also look to successful international examples to improve our own policies. In Australia, foreign investment is often directed towards new builds and development opportunities – rather than existing housing stock – to help encourage construction activity and employment.
Although amendments to the AIP policy would be sensible, Harris warns that too many changes will have the opposite effect on the property market.
“Buyers, sellers and investors are still adjusting to a number of significant changes introduced this year, and further amendments in the near-term risk creating uncertainty at a time when confidence is gradually returning,” he says. “Therefore, we don’t need another round of broad policy change under a reformed Government; we need certainty and confidence, enhanced with small, targeted refinements that help investment flow into more areas of the country.”
About New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty is a specialist agency that focuses on the sale of premium property through quality marketing and global networking. Founded in 2005 by Mark Harris and Julian Brown, the NZ branch of the global company has 32 offices nationwide – Arrowtown, Auckland Eastern Bays, Auckland North Shore, Auckland Ponsonby, Auckland Remuera, Auckland South East, Waiheke Island, Bay of Islands, Cambridge, Christchurch City, Christchurch Sumner, Cromwell, Greytown, Hamilton, Havelock North, Hutt Valley, Jack’s Point, Kapiti, Manawatu, Marlborough, Masterton, Napier Ahuriri, Napier City, Napier Taradale, Nelson, Orewa, Rotorua, Taupō, Waipu, Wānaka and Wellington, and its head office in Queenstown.
It is part of Sotheby’s International Realty – the world’s leading luxury real estate company – with a global network of approximately 1,110 offices and more than 26,100 affiliated independent sales associates throughout 84 countries and territories. In 2025/2026, New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty achieved a landmark industry recognition, winning the supreme global title of Best International Property Agency/ Consultancy at the International Property Awards, following its success as Best Property Agency/Consultancy in Asia Pacific. This achievement reinforces NZSIR’s position as one of the world’s leading real estate brands and recognises its commitment to excellence in marketing, client service and business performance.
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6. De Beers Group Advances Building Forever Goals with Significant Progress on Livelihoods, Nature, Climate and Provenance
October 12, 2026
Source: Media Outreach
Key achievements during 2025 include:
- Reducing Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 14% since 2021, progressing towards De Beers Group’s science-based target to reduce its carbon footprint by one third by 2030.
- Supporting 2.6 jobs offsite for every one job created onsite, as the Group works towards its ambition to support four offsite jobs for every onsite role by 2030.
- Managing 375,000 acres of land for conservation across Southern Africa, alongside continued investment in nature-positive initiatives and biodiversity conservation.
- Supporting the designation of Angola’s first Ramsar Wetland, helping protect the source of 95% of the water flowing into the Okavango Delta through the Okavango Eternal partnership with National Geographic.
- Achieving the safest year in De Beers Group’s history, with a 19% reduction in Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate compared with 2024 and zero work-related fatalities.
- Passing the milestone of five million rough diamonds individually scanned on Tracr, strengthening transparency and traceability across the natural diamond value chain.
- Training a further 500 women through EntreprenHER, delivered with UN Women and government partners, taking the total number of women trained through the programme to more than 3,900 since 2016.
- Committing to invest US$70 million to the Diamonds for Development Fund in Botswana, supporting the country’s ambition to accelerate long-term economic diversification.
These achievements are detailed in the Group’s 2025 Sustainability Report, published here today.
Al Cook, Chief Executive Officer of De Beers Group, said : “At De Beers, we believe natural diamonds can do more than sparkle. Through the natural diamond value chain, they can support jobs, skills development, nature conservation and climate action in diamond-producing countries. During 2025, De Beers Group sharpened its focus on a set of ambitious sustainability targets where the business can make the greatest difference, aligned with partner country priorities, global standards and UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are proud of the progress we are making to ensure every diamond we recover creates lasting impact for people, communities and the environment, but we also understand that this requires sharp focus, deliberate action and constant monitoring. As the pace of change around us increases, and as the risks and opportunities ahead of us become clearer, so must our commitment to progress grow.”
Sandrine Conseiller, CEO, De Beers Brands, added, “We’re pleased to share our 2025 sustainability achievements, demonstrating that our ambitions can lead to real, impactful change. Consumers increasingly expect the brands they choose to consider their wider impact, not as something exceptional, but as a matter of course. This report is about showing what De Beers’ sustainability commitments mean in practice, sharing openly the actions we are taking and the impact we are having, so customers can choose natural diamonds with confidence, knowing the value they create reaches far beyond the diamond itself.”
Other achievements in the Group’s Building Forever focus areas include:
Nature
De Beers has managed nature reserves in Southern Africa for more than 130 years, and our sites have biodiversity management programmes to avoid, reduce or restore our impact on nature.
- Today, De Beers’ conservation efforts are helping to protect vast swathes of land and keystone species across Southern Africa. Overall, De Beers Group manages 375,000 acres of land for conservation, and continues to explore scalable, nature-positive models across its conservation properties.
- The Okavango Eternal partnership with National Geographic reached a major milestone with the designation of Angola’s first Ramsar Wetland, helping protect the source of 95% of the water flowing into the Okavango Delta, the world’s largest inland delta and one of the most biodiverse areas in Africa.
- With Debswana, a joint enterprise between the Government of the Republic of Botswana and De Beers Group, De Beers celebrated the birth of the 70th rhino calf born safely on our nature reserves in Botswana since our rhino conservation efforts began in 2012, while the Group also successfully translocated 31 rhinos to support wider rewilding efforts in the region.
Looking ahead, De Beers Group aims to secure three times more land for nature than we impact and fund partnerships that aim to safeguard a further 13 million acres by 2030, through our continued partnership and support with Debswana, National Geographic and local organisations delivering our nature conservation ambitions.
Climate
By aiming to reduce the climate impact of our operations and developing partnerships to accelerate the energy transition, De Beers is working towards a lower carbon future that benefits everyone.
- De Beers Group has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 14% since 2021, progressing towards the Group’s SBTi-approved targets to reduce its carbon footprint by a third by 2030.
- As part of its focus on reducing carbon emissions, De Beers Group is proud to support Envusa, which brings 520MW of renewable energy to southern Africa, from solar and wind. Envusa forms part of a broader portfolio of climate initiatives designed to reduce emissions across the natural diamond value chain in a transparent and responsible way.
- Other examples of this work include advancing trials to create ‘drop in’ biofuels, progressing pioneering tyre circularity initiatives with Anglo American and Sasol, and supporting Kelp Blue, an award-winning startup that grows Giant Kelp on a large-scale off the coast of Namibia, to help sequester carbon, support the re-wilding of oceans and create a range of jobs and products that support the local economy.
Priorities for the next phase of progress include accelerating the reduction in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions through further expanding renewable energy capacity, focusing on the electrification of mining equipment and enhancing supplier engagement to address Scope 3 emissions.
Livelihoods
Natural diamonds have an inherently human story to tell – through jobs they create, communities they build, and societies they support. For over a century, natural diamonds have acted as an engine for economic growth. Today, the diamond industry continues to play a role in supporting the economic diversification of the countries we operate in.
- The Stanford Seed programme, which focuses on providing leadership training, management coaching and networking tools to help SMEs in De Beers’ southern African diamond producing partner countries grow, has now supported 128 businesses since launch.
- The EntreprenHER programme, run in partnership with UN Women to support opportunities for female entrepreneurs in diamond producing partner countries, trained a further 500 women in 2025, taking the total number of women trained since 2016 to 3,900.
- Overall, for every job that we created onsite, De Beers supported 2.6 jobs offsite in 2025, continuing towards the Group’s commitment to support 4 jobs offsite for every 1 job onsite by 2030.
The recent establishment of the Diamonds for Development Fund in Botswana in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Botswana carries the ambition to support the country’s emerging knowledge-based economy and accelerate its long-term economic diversification. De Beers Group has committed to make an initial investment to the value of BWP1 billion (approximately USD70 million) to deliver a transformative positive impact in the country.
This priority is also reflected in De Beers’ ambition and ongoing support through programmes such as Stanford Seed, EntreprenHER and the Diamond Entrepreneurship Programme, an incubation initiative designed to help local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) scale in cutting, polishing, jewellery design, and trading.
Provenance
Every natural diamond goes on a unique journey, from deep in the earth to its polished form, touching countless lives along the way. De Beers Group continued to strengthen industry standards and diamond traceability during 2025.
- The Group marked the 20th year of its Best Practice Principles programme, a rigorous set of standards, compliance with which is third-party audited.
- The programme covers around a quarter of a million people across more than 70 countries – including all De Beers Group operations globally, as well as all Sightholder customers and their diamond-related contractors.
- The Group also ensured 100% of its precious metal suppliers met rigorous sourcing standards to supply gold, platinum, and silver to its De Beers London and Forevermark retail brands.
- With regards to traceability, Tracr passed the milestone of five million rough diamonds being individually registered on the blockchain-backed diamond traceability platform
- Tracr also established a new partnership with Sarine to integrate rough diamond source registration with advanced scanning data, helping to create an end-to-end, cost-effective traceability solution to verify a diamond’s journey.
- The Tracr platform also provided the traceability backbone for the De Beers London capsule collection using GemFair diamonds developed in 2025, demonstrating that artisanally mined diamonds can be purchased ethically and transparently by luxury brands.
- These developments help provide greater confidence to consumers, retailers and industry partners in a diamond’s provenance and journey through the value chain.
The expansion of the Tracr platform’s reach represents the key area of future focus for the work on provenance. While the platform has continued to scale, with the onboarding of suppliers such as the Okavango Diamond Company, there remains the potential for the platform to expand to other production sources and bring on more midstream participants.
The full De Beers Group 2025 sustainability report can be found at: https://www.debeersgroup.com/sustainability/sustainability-report-2025.
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