Inside the Family-Run Diamond Company Quietly Leading in ESG

Ever since Pankaj Mehta founded Dimexon in 1966, the natural-diamond manufacturer in Coimbatore, India, has been a trailblazer. As a business, it was focusing on ethical standards long before corporate governance was a celebrated feature.  

The Coimbatore facility transitioned to 75% solar energy last year, reducing the company’s CO2 emissions by 942 metric tons in just eight months, according to the latest stakeholder report from the Watch & Jewellery Initiative (WJI) 2030 sustainability platform, of which Dimexon is a member. Today, the family-run manufacturing company guarantees natural diamonds that are fully traceable and ethically crafted. It has digitized its supply chain with a cutting-edge enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from business-software firm SAP. All its suppliers are fully compliant with its responsible-sourcing standards, and it adheres to globally recognized frameworks such as the Kimberley Process (KP) and the World Diamond Council (WDC) System of Warranties.  

Indeed, environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices are embedded in every level of Dimexon’s company structure, from the facilities in Coimbatore to its offices in Hong Kong, Paris, Antwerp, Mumbai and Dubai.  

“Every time we’re doing anything related to sustainability and ESG, everything else has to work hand-in-hand,” explains Morgane Winterholer, Dimexon’s Paris-based chief growth officer. Her own role includes managing sustainability efforts alongside communications, marketing, branding, and client relationships. “It’s part of our guiding principle that growth should be not just profitable, but sustainable.” 

Above and beyond 

That principle extends to anticipating change and taking measures to prepare for it. A case in point is Dimexon’s adoption of the European Union’s new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires firms to report on their financial and ESG practices.  

“We are not yet obliged to report that way, because we’re not publicly listed,” says Winterholer. “But we have decided to embrace the regulation to understand and use it as a tool for evolution to think and be ahead. Some of our clients are exempt; others must comply with it. We must be ready and be helpful, because we work in a supply chain.” 

The drive to innovate and to use sustainability for growth, profitability and competitiveness has long been part of Dimexon’s vision and activities. In 2005, it was the first diamond company in the world to become a voluntary signatory to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In 2017, Dimexon made its traceability data available to its clients, and it released the first annual Dimexon ESG report in 2022 — the same year the group became a WJI 2030 member.

A milestone for women 

The direction that Dimexon is taking today started with its founder.  

“In India in the 1970s, [Mehta’s] vision of giving women a chance to earn in a safe environment was highly innovative and extremely sustainable,” Winterholer explains, since hiring and training women diverged from what Indian diamond manufacturers — mostly in Surat — were doing at that time. 

Today, Mehta’s founding principles continue to percolate through the business. Women account for 76% of the Dimexon workforce, including India’s head of manufacturing. Equal opportunity, equal pay, and retention of female employees are still important issues for the company. In 2023, Dimexon signed on to the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP).  

“We understand that a career is not linear and that personal life impacts professional life,” says Winterholer. “We are monitoring the return-to-work rate after maternity leave, and [recently] reported a figure of 91%, which is important, especially in the regions where we operate.”  

Rajiv and Vishal Mehta, the founder’s sons, have been jointly managing the company since 2008. “There is the legacy from the founder, and a vision for the next generation entering the business, and we need to continue creating value,” Winterholer states. “When you’re in a family business, there’s a long-term view and a need for resilience. I think it is key.”

Openly accountable 

Dimexon has been a De Beers sightholder since 1976, going above and beyond the mining giant’s strict rules on ethics, financial prudence and adherence to the KP. The manufacturer is rigorous about its accountability. Today, it abides by four core pillars: environmental synergy, product integrity, responsible business conduct, and social stewardship (which covers female empowerment). Each pillar contains pledges and key performance indicators that check Dimexon’s goals and progress.   

The company has been reporting annually on its ESG initiatives since 2022. Some of the achievements it outlined in its 2024 report include reduced energy consumption, “zero waste to landfill” status for the Coimbatore manufacturing site, and a formalized approach to monitoring its Scope 3, or indirect, emissions. The recently released 2025 report covers what’s at stake for employees, senior management, clients and suppliers — including mining companies — and Dimexon’s future ESG priorities. 

“We are living in a moment of economic slowdown and some political uncertainty,” observes Winterholer. “In these moments, it is even more important to stay committed to [our sustainability] goals.” 

Main image: Dimexon chief growth officer Morgane Winterholer. (Dimexon)