A commitment to gender equality and to
fighting climate change, along with the value of the University of
Coffee as a training centre are some of the key elements that
earned illycaffè re-certification, with a higher score than
before
TRIESTE, Italy, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- illycaffè, the
global leader in high-quality sustainable coffee and a Benefit
Corporation, has re-obtained B Corp certification thanks 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 – states Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè
- 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".
"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,"
states Anna Puccio, Managing
Director of B Lab Italia. "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 our 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 our reporting system to encompass integrated
reporting, which is reflected in the increasingly strong links
between our 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(1), 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
Zero1 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
towards 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 centre 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.
illycaffè
illycaffè is an Italian family-owned
company, founded in Trieste in 1933 which has always set itself the
mission of offering the best coffee to the world. It produces a
unique 100% Arabica blend composed of 9 different ingredients. The
company selects only 1% of the best Arabica beans. Every day more
than 8 million cups of illy coffee are served in over 140 countries
around the globe, in the cafés, restaurants and hotels, in
single-brand cafés and shops, at home and in the office, in which
the company is present through subsidiaries and distributors.
Since its foundation, illycaffè has oriented its strategies towards
a sustainable business model, commitment that it strengthened in
2019 by adopting the status of Benefit Company and in 2021 becoming
the first Italian coffee company to obtain the international B Corp
certification. Everything that is "made in illy" is about beauty
and art, the founding principles of the brand, starting from its
logo, designed by artist James
Rosenquist, up to illy Art Collection cups, decorated by
over 130 international artists, or coffee machines designed by
internationally renowned designers. With the aim of spreading the
culture of quality to growers, baristas and coffee lovers, the
company has developed its Università del Caffè which today holds
courses in 23 countries around the world. In 2023, the company had
a turnover of €595,1 million. The illy single-brand network has 159
points of sale in 30 countries.
B Lab Italy
B Lab Italy is the Foundation that
represents and coordinates the B Corp Movement in Italy. Its goal, as Country Partner of the
global B Lab Network, is to grow, engage and manage the B Corp
community in Italy, its extended
ecosystem and the regional partners to achieve a more inclusive,
equitable and regenerative economic system. B Lab Italy puts B
Lab's Global Theory of Change into practice, promoting policy
changes within governments, spreading stories of businesses as a
positive force, and transforming the way businesses act in
their territories.
B Lab
B Lab is the nonprofit network transforming the
global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet.
Building on our standards and certification process, our network
leads economic systems change to support our collective vision of
an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Our programs and
tools help B Corps and non-B Corps plan for a resilient future —
including multinationals looking to understand their social and
environmental footprint — and our policy work pushes for meaningful
legal change around corporate accountability and social impact.
1 The companies that undertake to achieve an
SBTi Net Zero target are subject to rigorous scientific evaluations
to ensure that their goals are in line with the goal of limiting
the increase of global temperatures to 1.5°C compared to
pre-industrial levels, as established by the Paris Agreement.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/illycaffe-is-once-again-the-leading-coffee-b-corp-in-italy-and-exceeds-90-points-improving-all-its-performance-302151704.html
SOURCE illycaffè