De Beers issued its annual Report to Society, highlighting the company’s ethical and financial contributions in 2011.

“At De Beers there has always been a clear recognition that, while our primary purpose as a business shapes what it is that we do, it is how we work that defines who we are,” Nicky Oppenheimer, chairman of De Beers, said in a statement.

Highlights of the Report to Society include:

– Rough diamond price grew 29 percent in 2011, allowing the De Beers Family of Companies to increase payments to stakeholders around the world by 6.4 billion.

– $1.2 billion in rough diamonds were supplied to sightholders for manufacture in southern Africa.

– The De Beers Best Practice Principles Assurance Programme covered more than 300,000 diamond sector employees.

– Over 200,000 hectares of land have been set aside for conservation.

– The Family of Companies distributed $34.7 million toward community and social investments.

–  Use of recycled water at southern African mines remained relatively constant in comparison to 2010.