Illycaffè, a global leader in high-quality sustainable coffee and a Benefit Corporation, has re-obtained B Corp certification due to its constant commitment along the entire value chain and its ability to generate positive impacts for its employees, its reference communities, and the environment.
B Corp certification is issued by B Lab, an international organization that measures corporate environmental and social performance according to the standards established by the B Impact Assessment (BIA); it reviews its analyses every three years and issues re-certifications. In 2024, Illycaffè obtained a score of 90.4, a significant improvement over its 2021 certification.
"We are proud of the result achieved, which testifies to illycaffè's commitment to growing in a sustainable, responsible and transparent way,” Cristina Scocchia, CEO of Illycaffè, said in the announcement. “The choice of pursuing our business goals by creating lasting and shared value along the entire supply chain is a positive economic model that, as a B Corp we are committed to promoting, because we are convinced that now more than ever, the private sector must also do its part to support the transition to models that guarantee the future of people and the environment.”
Anna Puccio, managing director of B Lab Italia, added in the announcement: “Being a Certified B Corp company means operating according to the criteria of stakeholder governance, meeting B Lab's high standards of social and environmental impact and transparency. I congratulate illycaffè for again passing the challenging B Impact Assessment process in all five standards, an achievement that confirms its improved impacts internationally. illycaffè is an inspiring example for all companies globally to advance toward systemic change, a common and necessary goal of the entire B Corp Movement.”
The most significant progress over the last three years concerned strengthening its sustainability governance through a company task force comprising the entirety of C-levels; the inclusion of ESG goals in the incentive package for top management; the evolution of its reporting system to encompass integrated reporting, which is reflected in the increasingly strong links between its business strategy, economic and financial performance, and the social and environmental context in which the Group operates; the continued strengthening of the role that ESG issues play in selecting and assessing partners along the supply chain for goods and services; the recognition of the University of Coffee as an effective training tool along the entire value chain; the achievement of gender equality certification testifying to the adoption of a systemic approach to this issue; and a stronger commitment to fighting climate change through the adoption of an SPTi Net Zero target, as reflected in the company's steady reduction of its carbon footprint (-5.3% in 2023 compared to 2022, using a market-based calculation methodology).
Environment
In order to protect environmental resources, Illycaffè has continued to improve its performance in crucial sectors such as energy efficiency, the mitigation of emissions, the promotion of regenerative agriculture, the optimization of water resources and materials, and the application of a circular economy model by reducing waste and generating positive environmental impacts, including through the establishment of strategic partnerships. In 2023, the company cut its energy consumption by 12.9% and 95.5% of the electricity it used came from renewable sources (+19.2 percentage points compared to 2022). This was made possible thanks to constant improvements along the production chain, such as the development of a new software for coffee roasting machinery that cut consumption during stand-by phases by 20%.
The responsible supply chain created by the company through effective collaborative efforts with its suppliers is a key part of illycaffè's development strategy. Ambitious targets such as Net Zero can only be achieved through effective collaboration with suppliers. This is the spirit underpinning the Sustainability in Procurement project that was launched in 2022 with the goal of improving monitoring along all supply chains, including to reflect the requirements set out under the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which defines the obligation of companies with regards to the effective and potential negative impacts on human rights and the environment of their activities and those of their supply chains and business partners.
Workers
Illycaffè has always aimed to create an equitable and inclusive workplace. It pursues this goal by orienting its resource management and development strategies toward promoting a culture based on the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), leveraging the uniqueness of each individual and fostering their professional growth, and eschewing any and all forms of discrimination. The Policy for Inclusion and Gender Equality that was adopted in 2023, and the establishment of a DE&I Committee to spearhead initiatives in support of the company's diversity, equity and inclusion strategy reflect this commitment. This effort helped the company obtain the UNI/PdR 125:2022 certification on gender equality, which acknowledges a company's commitment to adopting a systemic approach and a cultural change aiming to create an inclusive and equitable workplace.
With an eye to constantly improving talent management and remuneration policies, the company mapped out its management and executive staff in terms of the importance of their position, scope of responsibilities and impact on business (so-called grades), comparing the salaries of comparable positions and providing an additional analytical tool to support its remuneration policies. The analysis showed that at the same grade/level, the average remuneration of women amounts to 97.2% of the average remuneration of men.
In 2023, the base salary of women, calculated through a weighted average correlated to the number of female employees in each professional category, amounted to 94.1% of the base salary of men, an increase over 2022 (+2.8 percentage points).
Governance
The ESG Task Force was established in 2022 to facilitate the interaction of all necessary company functions and skills to effectively implement the sustainability plan.
The ESG Taskforce, which comprises the CEO, the executives reporting directly to her, and the heads of the Risk & Compliance Office and the Legal Office, defines and coordinates strategic priorities, the company's sustainability goals, and the necessary investment plans to achieve them. In addition, it monitors project advancement and promotes the dissemination of a corporate sustainability culture within the organization.
Customers
Training is one of the pillars of the corporate strategy to facilitate social growth. The unique training offer of the University of Coffee, the center of excellence created by Illycaffè in 1999 to promote and disseminate coffee culture worldwide, is a source of value along the entire production chain. Thanks to its 23 campuses worldwide and its itinerant courses, the University of Coffee has trained over 348,000 people so far. In 2024, University of Coffee docents were certified by ACS Italia, attesting to their levels of knowledge and educational skills.
