TRIESTE, Italy – illycaffè, a global leader in sustainable high-quality coffee, has been recognized by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies. illycaffè has been recognized for eleven consecutive years and is still the only Italian company being honored this year. In 2023, 135 honorees were recognized spanning 19 countries and 48 industries.
illycaffè is part of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies
“Proud to be listed for the eleventh year, as the only Italian company, among the world most ethical companies: a recognition of our commitment as a family company cultivating business ethics for 90 years” said Andrea Illy, President of illycaffè. “A result also achieved thanks to the management, which has been able to translate this commitment into the daily business. illycaffè is now running at full speed towards carbon neutrality in 2033 though regenerative agriculture and circular economy”.
“Ethics matters. Organizations that commit to business integrity through robust programs and practices not only elevate standards and expectations for all, but also have better long-term performance,” said Ethisphere CEO, Erica Salmon Byrne. “We continue to be inspired by the World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees and their dedication to making real impact for their stakeholders and displaying exemplary values-based leadership. Congratulations to illycaffè for earning a place in the World’s Most Ethical Companies community.”
Methodology & Scoring
Grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient, the World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity, and initiatives that support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe.
Honorees
To view the full list of this year’s honorees, please visit the World’s Most Ethical Companies website, here.
About illycaffè
illycaffè is an Italian family-owned company, founded in Trieste in 1933. Its mission has always been to offer the best coffee to the world. Illycaffè produces a unique 100% Arabica blend, combining 9 of the best varieties in the world, selected by illycaffè: every day 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. As a result of its innovations, illycaffè contributes to the coffee technology progress at global level. In 1991, the “Prêmio Ernesto Illy de Qualidade Sustentável do Café para Espresso” was launched in Brazil for quality espresso coffee.
illycaffè has contributed to the sharing of the know-how, paying growers a premium price for the best quality selected by illycaffè. Since 2016, with the “Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award”, the company has celebrated coffee growers all over the world that, according to illy, have produced the best sustainable coffee.
Since 2013, the company has been in the list of the World Most Ethical Companies. In 2019, it enhanced its commitment to pursue a sustainable business model integrating the interest of people with the environment, adopting the status of Società Benefit (Benefit Company) and adding this commitment into its own bylaws.
In 2021, illycaffè was the first Italian company in the coffee sector to obtain the international certification as B Corp as a result of its commitment to comply with the highest standards of social and environmental performance.
The company also founded the University of Coffee, which has the objective of sharing culture at all levels, offering a comprehensive and practical training to growers, baristas and coffee lovers. 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 125 international artists. In 2021, the company had 1305 employees and a turnover of about €500 million.
There are 205 illy single-brand shops in over 40 countries all over the world. In 2021, Rhone Capital became a minority shareholder of illycaffè with the aim of contributing to the company’s international growth plans.
About Ethisphere
Ethisphere is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust, and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character.
Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine.
Ethisphere also helps to advance business performance through data-driven assessments, guidance, and benchmarking against its unparalleled data: the Culture Quotient dataset focused on ethical culture and featuring the responses of 2+ million employees around the world; and the Ethics Quotient dataset, featuring 200+ data points highlighting the ethics, compliance, social, and governance practices of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.
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