The prize was awarded by an independent international jury of nine experts who chose the best among the winners of the 9 single-origins that make up the recipe of the unique illy blend: Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua and Rwanda.

The SMS Cluster ECOM of Nicaragua won the Coffee Lovers’ Choice award, voted for by consumers around the world who in the weeks leading up to the event blindly tasted the same samples in illy coffees.

“For the second year in a row, a Brazilian company that adopts regenerative practices has given us the best coffee in the world. In the Fazenda Serra do Boné, the health of the soil, biodiversity, and water sources are preserved thanks to the use of organic fertilizers, biological control and the reuse of processing by-products,” said Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè. “We are once again noticing important signs that confirm how regenerative agriculture is the right path towards a more resilient production capable of guaranteeing productivity and superior quality, of which coffee is the forerunner with the highest growth rates.”

The panel of judges who selected the Best of the Best included Massimo Bottura, chef patron of Osteria Francescana and founder of Food for Soul; Viki Geunes, chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred Zilte in Antwerp; Felipe Rodriguez, head chef at São Paulo’s Rosewood Complex; Vanúsia Nogueira, executive director of the International Coffee Organization (ICO); Q Grader professional tasters Felipe Isaza and Dessalegn Oljirra Gemeda; journalists Vanessa Zocchetti (Madame Figaro), Sebastian Späth (Falstaff), and Josh Condon (Robb Report).

The jury described Fazenda Serra do Boné’s award-winning coffee as creamy, sweet, and full-bodied, with an elegant balance of fresh fruit aromas, caramel undertones, subtle hints of brown sugar, and a persistent chocolate finish with floral notes of jasmine – a beautifully complex coffee that perfectly embodies its Brazilian origin.

This year’s event attracted a diverse group of public figures, including Francis Ford Coppola, Marina Abramović, Pat Cleveland, Alex Riviere, Chiara Maci, Candela Pelizza, Tamu McPherson, Sveva Alviti, Christoph Leitner, Simon e Marina Ksandr, Nick Lowry, Maddy Devita, Justine Martilotti, and Brittany Leigh Ball. The celebration of coffee excellence took place at a gala dinner at Peak in Hudson Yards, hosted by Spanish TV journalist Olivia Frejus Lloyd.

Beyond awards, the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award fosters global discussions on coffee sustainability. The day began at the United Nations headquarters in New York where representatives from across the coffee supply chain gathered for a roundtable discussion titled “Global Coffee Alliance: Mobilizing a Public-Private Fund to Fight Climate Change.” The panel, moderated by Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation, featured chairman Andrea Illy, Italian Ambassador to the UN, Maurizio Massari; executive director of the ICO, Vanúsia Nogueira; chef and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Massimo Bottura; UNIDO project manager, Andrea De Marco; senior director of sustainable coffee at Conservation International, Raina Lang; and UNEP director for the New York office, Jamil Ahmad; who explored initiatives to advance sustainable coffee production in the face of climate challenges.

The panel emphasised the urgent need to transition coffee cultivation to a regenerative model to enhance resilience, improve farmer livelihoods, and reduce environmental impact. A major focus was on establishing a USD $10 billion public-private fund over the next decade, which will target smallholder coffee farmers in tropical regions heavily impacted by climate change.

“Since Expo 2015, we have worked tirelessly to build a framework to protect coffee for generations to come,” said Andrea Illy. “Regenerative agriculture has shown it can produce high yields and quality while restoring natural resources. We must act quickly to scale these solutions globally through an international fund. It is essential we implement regenerative solutions now, as we see they work and deliver positive outcomes.”

Throughout the discussion, panelists underscored the importance of uniting stakeholders from governments, international organisations, and the private sector to bring impactful, lasting change to coffee-growing communities. Reichenbach highlighted that consumer awareness and participation are key drivers in the industry’s sustainability journey.

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Throughout the year, illycaffè’s quality laboratories analysed samples from the 2023/2024 harvest, selecting the best batches and producers based on both qualitative and sustainability criteria.

The finalists for this edition come from Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua, and Rwanda.

“Sustainable quality is the result of a process that begins in the coffee plantations and requires constant innovation, research, and training. It means producing high-quality coffee with respect for the environment, biodiversity, human rights, and social well-being. The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award has become an annual appointment with our best producers worldwide, with whom we have worked hand in hand for decades to ensure a prosperous future for people and the planet,” commented Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè.

The 27 finalists for the Ernesto Illy International Award 2024, listed alphabetically by country, are:

Brazil:

• Fazenda São João – Décio Bruxel e Outros
• Fazenda Serra do Boné – Matheus Lopes Sanglard
• Fazenda Vila Oscarlina – Flávio da Costa Figueredo

Costa Rica

• Coopelibertad R.L.
• CoopeSabalito R.L.
• Finca San Carlos de Marespi S.A.

El Salvador

• Finca Agua Caliente – J.J. Borja Nathan S.A.
• Finca Bolívar – Matorral de S.A. de C.V.
• Finca San Rafael – Comercial Larin S.A. DE C.V.

Ethiopia

• Darimo Washing Station Plc – Asma International Business Pvt Ltd
• Gera Tracon Washing Station Plc – Tracon Trading P.L.C.
• Jemila Amdela Washing Station Plc – Legesse Sherefa Pvt Ltd Co.

Guatemala

• Finca Danilandia – Luis Arimany Monzón
• Finca Santa Leonarda – Plantaciones Agropecuarias S.A.
• Pequeños Productores Santa Cruz Naranjo

Honduras

• Finca Diego Paz – Diego Paz Paz
• Finca Don Miguel – Miguel Angel Pérez Guevara
• Finca El Carmen – Jorge Aníbal Peña Maldonado

India

• Coovercolly Estate – Tata Consumer Products Ltd.
• Kajjehally Estate – S. Vasudevan
• Margolly Estate – Tata Consumer Products Ltd.

Nicaragua

• Finca Santa Ana – Aida Lila Zeledón Palacios
• Grupo productores – Olam Nicaragua
• SMS Cluster ECOM Nicaragua

Rwanda

• Karenge Coffee Washing Station
• Kibirizi Coffee Washing Station
• Rwinyoni Coffee Washing Station

The ranking of each of the nine finalist countries will be announced on 12 November at the United Nations in New York during an event where coffee producers will learn who has won the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award 2024.

The previous edition of the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award was won for the first time by Brazil, with the São Mateus Agropecuaria farm. This achievement is particularly significant as the coffee was produced using regenerative agricultural practices, which benefit the environment and health while producing exceptionally high-quality coffee.

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The award, named after the visionary leader of illycaffè and the son of the company’s founder, celebrates the work that the Trieste, Italy-based company has been doing every day for the last 30 years, side-by-side with coffee farmers, to offer the best possible sustainable coffee. The award was presented to the winner by illycaffè chairman Andrea Illy during an event held at the New York Public Library in New York.

EIICA celebrates the finest Arabica coffees sourced from all over the world. This event aims to recognize growers for the quality coffee they tirelessly work to produce. The award was assigned by an independent panel of nine experts who examined the best batches from the 2022-2023 harvest through a blind tasting of nine coffees from the nine finalist countries: Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua, and Rwanda. Prior to being evaluated by the panel, each batch of coffee was analysed by illycaffè’s quality control labs and rated in terms of richness and aromatic complexity, the elegance and balance of its flavour and intensity of its aroma.

Guatemala’s Finca Danilandia di Luis Arimany Mondonico won the Coffee Lovers’ Choice Award, assigned by a panel of consumers who, in the weeks prior to the event, carried out blind taste tests of the coffee samples in illy cafés in Trieste, Milan, Paris, London, Sao Paolo and New York and ranked their preferences.

“The absolute victory of the Brazilian coffee coming from regenerative agriculture – chosen blindly among the nine best coffees in the world – fills me with joy. Indeed, the history of the Ernesto Illy Award began in Brazil in 1991 and this confirms that the rewards received, by illycaffè for having transformed Brazil from a leader in quantity to a leader in quality are well-deserved,” said Andrea Illy. “After more than 25 years of neverending and tireless work by our team of agronomists and the University of Coffee, the leap has finally happened thanks to regenerative agriculture, which we decided to develop in 2018 for the benefits it brings to the environment and everyone’s health.”

The panel that voted for the Best of the Best award included Guatemala’s professional taster Silvia Escobar; the President of Federação dos Cafeicultores do Cerrado, Brasilian Glaucio De Castro; the director of the CoffeeLab quality laboratory, Indian Sunalini Narayan Menon; chef Ricard Camarena, who has been awarded two Michelin stars and a green star for his dedication to sustainability at his Ricard Camarena Restaurant in Valencia; American chefs Carrie and Rupert Blease, who manage the Michelin-starred Lord Stanley restaurant in San Francisco; Andrea Aprea, a Michelin-starred chef with a restaurant bearing his name in Milan; French writer and journalist Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnere, editor-in-chief of Point de Vue magazine; Inga Griese, founder and editor-in-chief of ICON, the style supplement of the German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag; Angelina Villa Clarke, a journalist contributing to prestigious English-language publications including Forbes.

Commenting on the winning coffee, the jury said, “This year’s Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award winner is a rounded, wholesome, and fully bodied cup, with rich yet mellow flavors of a balance of chocolate, caramel, brown sugar, and toasted almonds on a bed of refined brightness, with a lingering finish of mild, gentle, yet harmonious sweetness. It truly represents the finest taste characteristics of its origin.”

Martha Stewart, Matilda De Angelis, Pat Cleveland, Coco Rocha, Candela Pelizza, Tamu Mc Pherson, Carlo Sestini, Simon and Marina Ksandr, Nick Lowry, Tesa Pesic are some of the celebrities who attended the gala event at the New York Public Library, hosted by chef and TV star Marcus Samuelsson, to celebrate the best coffee producers who work behind the unique illy blend.

The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award is also an unmissable networking opportunity for all those involved in the coffee industry, from producers to exporters, from traders to institutional representatives. In the morning they all met at the United Nations Headquarters to attend a panel discussion on protecting the future of coffee. Alongside illycaffè chairman Andrea Illy, speakers included Vanusia Nogueira, executive director, International Coffee Organization; Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economy at Columbia University and co-chair at the Regenerative Society Foundation; Oscar Schaps, president of the Latin American division of Stone X Financial Inc; and Glaucio de Castro, president of the Federação dos Cafeicultores do Cerrado Mineiro. (For a full recap of the event at the UN, see the Editor’s Blog: “The time is now” to invest in regenerative agriculture (teaandcoffee.net).

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I was honoured to moderate yesterday’s morning events at the UN headquarters, which, this year, featured a panel of leading experts in the coffee sector discussing the urgency of preserving and protecting the future of coffee through regenerative agriculture. The panelists also appealed to the international financial community (some of whom were in the audience) to invest in the transition to regenerative agriculture through public and private partnerships. Panelists included: Vanusia Nogueira, executive director, International Coffee Organization (ICO); Jeffrey Sachs, economy professor at Columbia University (NYC) and co-chair Regenerative Society Foundation; Oscar Schaps, president of the Latin America division of StoneX Financial Inc. and commodity trader; and Glaucio De Castro, president of Federação dos Cafeicultores do Cerrado Mineiro.

Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè and co-chair of Regenerative Society Foundation, kicked off the panel discussion reminding the audience of the impact the low and volatile coffee prices have had on farming communities. He explained that improvements the ‘caffeculture’ has achieved in recent decades through the process of de-commoditization – improvements that still have a long way to go before achieving economic, social and environmental sustainability – are at risk of being reversed due to climate change. Regenerative agriculture, Illy said, has proven to be more resilient and to produce both environmental and health benefits. “Today we have proof that this model works, it is essential to implement it.”

Glaucio De Castro, president of Federação dos Cafeicultores do Cerrado Mineiro (Brazil) is a pioneer of regenerative agriculture. He began transitioning to regenerative agriculture several ago, and although he admits it is challenging and changes and tweaks were – and still are – De Castro sees the benefits and believes regenerative agriculture is the “[way to go].”

While regenerative agriculture is the agreed upon model by the panelists, it is costly — it requires investments of approximately US $10 billion over the next ten years. Of course, producing countries do not have sufficient economic-financial capacity, so it is necessary to create private and public partnerships that can generate international supply chain funds (this challenge is nothing new as governmental, intergovernmental, non-governmental and private stakeholders have been involved or approached for many years).

“To have a future in coffee we need to think about the planet and the people involved,” said Vanusia Nogueira, executive director, ICO. “It’s part of our responsibility as leaders of this sector to look for alternatives to provide good life to the producers and their families and also to take care of our planet. It’s clear that the challenges are big enough to not be addressed individually but in a collective and pre-competitive effort. Together I believe we can find impactful solutions.”

Economist Jeffrey Sachs, who is an internationally recognized leader in the field of sustainable development, said that true economic development aims to transform our society by creating sustainable increases in wellbeing through investments in human capital, physical infrastructure, and business enterprise, all with attention to the preserve natural capital on which our economy and survival depend.

“My morning coffee will never be grown in Central Park but will continue to be grown in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Colombia, Vietnam, and elsewhere. A well-managed developing country with access to major markets and international finance can grow very quickly,” Sachs continued, noting, “after decades of severe human-induced environmental degradation, we need to transform our economies to the core principles of sustainable development and the regeneration of natural capital. The most basic principle of all is to act for the common good. This means that we must start from cooperation within our communities, our nations, and globally.”

Andrea Illy concluded the panel discussion explaining that two things are needed for adaptation to climate change: improved agronomic practices and the renewal of plantations with more resistant varieties. “Regenerative agriculture seems to provide an answer to the first need, and I hope that this will become a model for the whole ‘caffeculture’. As far as renewal is concerned, we need to speed up considerably. All this requires supply chain investments that cannot be delayed any longer.”

The 8^th Ernesto Illy International Award ‘Best of the Best’ and ‘Coffee Lovers Choice’ winners were announced at an evening gala at the New York Public Library. The 2023 ‘Best of the Best’ winner is São Mateus Agropecuária from Brazil and the 2023 ‘Coffee Lover’s Choice’ winner is Finca Danilandia from Guatemala.

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Carbon, and in turn, the carbon footprint, has been recognised as one of the leading causes of human-induced climate change. Over the past few decades, companies have shifted their infrastructures to reduce the negative impact, hoping to protect plants, waterways, and animals. However, when carbon is in the soil, it improves its ability to retain water and its overall fertility. So, the challenge is how do we get carbon out of the air and back into the earth? The solution is regenerative agriculture.

Bringing soil to the forefront

For decades, the climate change conversation centered around harm reduction with the goal of shifting agricultural practices to become carbon neutral. The challenge with this model is that it simply maintains the environment where it is today, which means that the current challenges plaguing the industry, including climate unpredictability, drought, and pest infestations, remain. Minimising harm is no longer enough to mitigate the risks of climate change; the environment needs to improve. Instead of adopting methods that will sustain, the focus needs to be repair and regeneration, beginning with adopting agricultural practices that will build healthy soil.

Regenerative farming begins with recognising soil’s role in the health of the planet and those living on it. “Conventional, which is the majority, this is where we have been, and sometimes it is where we are still stuck, but the method is destructive and unsustainable,” said Michael Ham, president, Well AP, Mt Kisco, New York. “Sustainable, which is achieving net zero, will maintain the status quo, but we need to reverse the damage that has been done and the only way to do that is through regenerative. This is where the focus needs to be in the next decade for us to really bring things back to where they should be. “Recognising the benefit, both for the earth and farm itself, Ham shared that their Korean tea farm Wild Orchard made the commitment to shift its practices from organic to regenerative. This past May, Wild Orchard obtained the Regenerative Organic Certification, becoming the first tea farm to receive this certification.

Curious deer traipsing through tea plants that are surrounded by other plants and wildflowers. Image: Wild Orchard

“Regenerative agriculture takes it one step further by focusing on the health of the soil,” said Ham. The model emphasises that soil requires living microbes to achieve its optimal health, which is obtained through various methods, including crop cover, minimising the amount of tillage, biodiversity, and intermittent grazing techniques, can grow nutrient-dense plants and reduce the amount of carbon in the environment.

In 2014, the Rodale Institute, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, released the white paper “Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change: A Down to Earth Solution to Global Warming,” urging the agricultural sector to consider the long-term impacts of its practices and to adopt regenerative methods. According to the Rodale Institute, most agricultural soil has lost between 30 to 75 per cent of its organic carbon. The loss has been linked to the atmosphere and conventional farming practices. Six years later, the Rodale Institute published “Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Solution,” reiterating the harm in conventional practices, and urged the agricultural industry to adopt regenerative practices to build healthy soil, and in turn, reduce the levels of carbon in the atmosphere.

Dr Rattan Lal, director of carbon management and sequestration centre, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, and winner of the 2020 World Food Prize, has extensively studied soil health. He continues to emphasise the importance of protecting the soil, both for the health of the environment and to improve food security. He explained the interdependency between the health of soil and the health of the planet, stating that if the health of the soil goes down the health of everything else goes down with it.

Making the shift to regenerative practices

In November 2020, the World Coffee Research organisation invited both Dr Lal and Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè, Trieste, Italy, to discuss soil health, and more specifically regenerative agriculture and the need for the coffee industry to shift its farming practices to mitigate the risks of climate change. Over the last five years, several coffee and tea manufacturers have adapted their sustainability strategies to focus on regeneration and soil health. Starbucks launched a holistic sustainability project with a focus on regenerative agriculture in Nariño, Colombia, with 100 smallholder farmers. Nestlé committed to investing 1.3 billion dollars, over a five-year period, to aid farmers with the transition to regenerative practices.

illycaffè announced its goal of becoming a carbon-free company by 2033, including zero-emission coffee plantations in both Guatemala and Kokkere, Ethiopia, where the farmers are adopting the principles of regenerative agriculture. While Unilever released its five regenerative agriculture principles, which would serve as a model of standards that they would use to help educate suppliers and guide their farmers.

Tazo launched a regenerative organic tea line in August. Image: Tazo Tea

This past August, Tazo Tea (formerly owned by Unilever, now owned by ekaterra) launched a regenerative organic tea line made with ingredients grown with regenerative agriculture practices. The product launch included four Tazo original tea blends relaunched as regenerative organic blends. The commitment to becoming regenerative included not just the farms themselves but also a focus on developing resilient communities and replenishing the planet’s resources.

“Tazo has always been a brand that challenges the status quo, and this regenerative organic transition is no exception,” said Laraine Miller, president, ekaterra Americas, New York. “For too long, business as usual has been killing our planet. It is time for every company, including the entire tea industry, to overhaul their means of production to combat climate change and help people and planet thrive.”

The tea and coffee industries are taking action, adopting strategies that focus on regeneration, beginning with educating farmers on the importance of soil health and providing the resources that will support them with making this transition. However, the path to become regenerative, is still in its infancy. “Regenerative agriculture might be the new buzzword on the block, but the key aspect behind it to shift the focus of sustainable farming from ‘doing no harm’ towards delivering positive impact is urgent and garnering more corporate commitment,” said Piet van Asten, head sustainable production systems-coffee, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI), Singapore. “This momentum is proving powerful in driving efforts around decarbonisation and pesticide reduction.”

The message from both the tea and coffee communities is clear. Instead of sustaining, we need to reduce the amount of carbon in the environment, a term, called decarbonisation, and the adoption of regenerative practices provides a strategy to help achieve this goal.

For regenerative practices to be viable at the farm level, the strategies adopted need to be responsive to the particular needs of the farmer.

“From our experience, it’s important to present it to farmers as an extension of what they already do well, rather than as a requirement to change existing practices,” said Van Asten. “To encourage uptake, we need to go beyond the buzzwords by translating what ‘regenerative,’ ‘climate-smart’ or ‘agro-ecological’ practices mean on the ground in terms of better productivity and livelihoods.”

OFI strives to do this through education, including highlighting the benefits that some of these shifts, that may initially appear counterintuitive, like integrated weed management, can provide. For example, through education, the farmers begin to see soil erosion, recycle nutrients, and harbour natural predators to control insect pests. “Educating farmers and supporting them to meet demand by shifting to more eco-friendly production makes what might initially seem a daunting task, an economically viable route in the long-term,” said Van Asten.

From an economic standpoint, this model is being looked at for its potential in developing more resilient crops, and in turn, aiding with food security. However, converting to this model requires farmers to look at the entire process, from soil to the harvest, including both the short- and long-term outcome of each of the techniques that are used. Machine harvesting, for example, traditionally uses fossil fuel emitting these toxins into the environment, which in turn, enters the soil, and the plants. However, innovation in agrotech is looking at eco-friendly alternatives to respond to these challenges so that large scale farms have an option that will maintain their productivity without causing harm to the environment.

At Olam AtSource agronomist shows the benefits of a properly pruned coffee plant. Image: Vanessa L Facenda

Currently, the tea at the 1000-acre farm of Wild Orchard is hand-picked, however, the company is looking at investing in battery powered harvesting machines to pluck their second and third flushes of their crops. The hope is that by incorporating these types of tools into their operation will help accelerate the amount of regenerative tea that enters the supply chain.

The long-term benefits of regenerative agricultural practices continue to gain recognition throughout the tea and coffee industries. On a positive note, each shift that is made at the farm level, whether it is increasing biodiversity, integrated weed management, or maintaining cover crops, will help to feed the soil, and over time, reduce the amount of carbon that is emitted into the atmosphere. The launch of the regenerative organic alliance certification is a tool that will help increase consumer recognition of this agricultural model. However, now, it is up to the industry to share the positive actions that their companies are taking so that the products that are grown through the regenerative model receive both the recognition and the economic value that they deserve.

• Anne-Marie Hardie is a freelance writer, professor and speaker based in Barrie, Ontario. She may be reached at: annemariehardie1@gmail.com.

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As we hone into the sustainability conversation, the coffee industry has recognised that achieving net-zero is no longer enough. We need to expand beyond the practices that will keep the coffee industry where it is today, but instead, look at the actions that will transform the industry tomorrow. The coffee industry needs to become a circular economy. The Ellen Macarthur Foundation, based in Cowes, England, works to accelerate the transition to a circular economy by developing and promoting the idea and by collaborating with business, academia, policymakers, and institutions to mobilise systems solutions at scale, globally. It defines a circular economy as a system that stops waste from being produced in the first place. It requires the adoption of three practices: the elimination of waste and pollution, circulating products and materials (recycling, renewable resources), and regenerating nature.

“If we don’t reduce industrial energy consumption and industrial emissions, research shows we will only get a little more than halfway to net-zero by 2050, about 55 per cent of the way,” said Nabil Nasr, CEO, REMADE Institute, New York, New York. “A circular economy approach to how we manufacture and use everyday products can help us get all the way to net-zero.” Over the last five years, REMADE has fused on increasing the reuse, remanufacturing, recovery, and recycling of metals, plastics/polymer, fibres, and electronic waste.

The elimination of waste and pollutions

The global production of coffee currently creates a substantial amount of waste and pollution along the supply chain, from the pulp of the cascara hulls emitting carbon to the packaging overflowing the landfill.

“Buying behaviours have changed, and consumers expect more from their coffee. Coffee must be sustainable inside and out, starting with the way it is grown, sourced, staffed, manufactured, and more recently how it is packaged,” said Nerida Kelton, vice president, sustainability and save food, World Packaging Organization.

Renewable energy is an essential component of adopting a circular economy, however, a limited infrastructure is preventing this from occurring. For example, in the United States, only 17 percent of the electrical grid is renewable energy. Globally, this number is even more dismal, with only 11 percent of the world’s primary energy being renewable. Thankfully, positive shifts are occurring; in 2020, the renewable energy sector outpaced fossil fuels in the United Kingdom. Norway has the highest share of renewable energy in the world, and Brazil is a leader in biofuel and waste energy, accounting for 32 percent of their energy supply.

Coffee flowers can be used to make coffee tea. Image: Coffee Consulate

Since 2017 all of Dunstable, England-based Costa Coffee’s company-owned stores have been powered by renewable energy. Their roastery integrates renewable energy, including a 249kw solar PV system that provides power to the roaster, and an in-house, rainwater harvesting system. Today, the company is focused on further reducing its carbon footprint, including finding viable solutions for reusable coffee cups. This past November, the company changed their lining in their 95 percent wood fibre based takeaway cups to plant-based plastic, reducing the carbon footprint by an additional 26 percent.

Solutions, like the Bellwether Coffee zero-emission electric roaster, are helping provide cafes with a sustainable alternative to their traditional equipment. The electric roaster reduces the carbon footprint of the roast cycle by 87 percent. “We already see many coffee farmers creating circular economies within their own farming practices like using cascara to create compost,” said Grayson Caldwell, senior sustainability manager, Bellwether Coffee, Berkeley, California. “Coffee roasters have a responsibility to promote a circular economy as well.”

In December 2021, Bellwether Coffee announced its Roast Accelerator programme to help reduce the barriers to implementing a sustainable coffee roaster. The programme, which is currently available for marginalised San Francisco Bay area (Calif.) roasters, will provide a Bellwether roaster at zero upfront cost and a year of subsidised monthly roaster rent.

A broader approach to waste management

One of the challenges of developing a packaging design is ensuring that it is kept out of the landfill. Using recyclable or compostable materials is no longer enough; companies need to ensure that their products conform to the levies and regulations in the region. Alternatively, they can develop a closed-loop system that will help ensure that the packaging is repurposed.

The most well-known coffee by-product is cascara, the dried cherries from which the coffee beans have been removed. Image: Coffee Consulate

Single serve has long been a target for sustainability, which has resulted in several companies creating solutions that are either compostable or recyclable. One brand that has done precisely that is Nespresso. Lausanne, Switzerland-based Nespresso has developed regional partnerships to ensure its aluminium-based pods stay out of landfills. Currently, there are 100,000 Nespresso collection points spanning across fifty countries.

Developing these types of closed loop collection programmes will help ensure that the packaging is repurposed instead of placed in the landfill. Recently, Nespresso partnered with CurbCycle and iQ Recycle to trial a new programme in the Mosman, Newcastle and Willoughby regions in Australia. “The new Curby program sends residents in a trial region bright orange Curby bags, which are filled with the aluminium capsules and then placed into the regular recycling bin,” said Kelton. “The bags are then separated at the Materials Recovery Facility and sent to Nespresso to recycle.”

The most well-known coffee by-product is cascara, the dried cherries from which the coffee beans have been removed.

Cafes Novell, Barcelona, Spain, has also implemented several initiatives to contribute to the circular economy, including zero-waste packaging, partnering with Nespresso in its recyclable single serve programme, and committing to responsible sourcing. “Cafes Novell didn’t want to offer packaging that didn’t marry up with their sustainable goals,” said Kelton. “They identified the issue of capsules heading to the landfill and designed a compostable barrier for their pods and a recyclable carton board in 2019.” Cafes Novell’s most recent partnership is with Tree-Nation, Barcelona, Spain, where the company has committed to planting a tree in one of several reforestation projects with every purchase.

The use of mono-materials helps improve the overall recycling and composting rate of packaging, however, creating this for coffee has been a challenge. This is because coffee packaging needs to preserve the product, while also creating a barrier for gas and vapour.

Cyclpac, Melbourne, Australia, the 2022 WorldStar Packaging Award winner, addressed these challenges when they designed a recyclable, sustainable mono-material solution for coffee that offers barriers to oxygen and vapour. “Cyclpac have developed a packaging solution that could change traditional approaches in the coffee industry for good, replacing ‘mixed’ laminate packaging materials,” said Kelton. “The packaging is 90 percent LDPE [low-density polyethylene], has a technical barrier to gas and vapour, a mono structure lamination, BOPE [a transformative technology that enables the manufacture of all-polyethylene], seven-layer high barrier co-extrusion [an extrusion process used to obtain a product that combines two textures] with EVOH [ethylene vinyl alcohol], reverse or surface printed.” The material used is recyclable and compliant with the Australasian Recycling Labelling Program and the On-Pack Recycling Label in the United Kingdom.

Circulating products and materials at their highest value

One of the fundamental principles of a circular economy is the elimination of finite resources by either keeping existing products and materials in use or repurposing the raw materials into other formats.

Packaging is not the only by-product created by the industry, one of the largest sources of waste is the coffee grounds. To address this issue, cafés are creating programmes to divert this waste source, including internal composting programmes and repurposing the grounds into other materials.

“Coffee grounds have traditionally been seen as a ‘waste’ material. But now we can recycle these into sustainable composites for plastics (in fixtures like signage or countertops), or indeed into a natural flavour ingredient for foods and beverages,” said Jessica Folkerts, head of marketing, bio-bean Limited, Huntingdon, UK. For this upcycling to happen, bio-bean requires a clean supply stream of spent grounds. “Behaviour change is key here; whether it’s in the sourcing of more sustainable materials and ingredients or the ‘waste’ segregation and disposal of the by-products, it’s down to human behaviour to truly make a change.”

The Curby trial programme in Australia sends residents special bags for Nespresso aluminium capsules that can then be placed in regular bins.

Bio-bean, whose purpose is to create impactful, lasting change by innovating through coffee waste, recycles spent coffee grounds from businesses across the UK into a variety of sustainable bio-products. Their latest product, Inficaf, which launched this past July, has a range of applications, from plastics to automotive friction and cosmetics. A couple of the projects that Inficaf has been used in, include creating wall art in McDonald’s net-zero restaurant and a partnership with businesses in plastics compounding and moulding to create a reusable coffee cup.

In June 2021, Costa Coffee extended its partnership with bio-bean, which began in 2016, for an additional two years. Approximately 1500 Costa Coffee stores segregate their spent coffee grounds and send them to the bio-bean recycling facility.

Regenerating nature

In a circular economy, the focus expands beyond yield to look at regeneration, including protecting the local ecosystem through biodiversity and seeing soil as a living organism. “In agriculture, to create a circular economy you need to recognise the complexity and realise it’s different in every country,” said Andrea Illy, chairman, Illycaffè, SpA, Trieste, Italy.

Image: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (2021)

One of the challenges of integrating regenerative agriculture at the farm level, is developing a model that is truly scalable. To further understand this form of agriculture, Illycaffè is applying the principles of regenerative agriculture to two zero-emission plantations, one at the Jardines de Babilonia in Guatemala and the second at Kokkere which is in Ethiopia’s Ormia region. This includes planting trees, enriching the soil with organic matter to boost carbon efficiency, and boosting the biodiversity of the region to restore the ecosystem’s balance. Illy’s goal is to be able to turn these projects into scalable models. Illycaffè’s objective is to become carbon-free by 2033, which requires shifting its agriculture practices from ‘emitter’ to ‘sequestrator’.

Several key players in the industry including, Nestlé, Starbucks, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, and Unilever, have made substantial commitments to achieving net zero and investing in regenerative agriculture. Actions include detailed origin assessments, increasing biodiversity, a commitment to agroforestry and reducing carbon emissions.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation emphasised that the circular economy is a system solution framework. For coffee, this involves looking at the entire supply chain and implementing solutions that are focused on regeneration, instead of extraction. It is a complex shift with many moving parts, however, the path towards a circular economy in coffee is slowly being paved.

• Anne-Marie Hardie is a freelance writer, professor and speaker based in Barrie, Ontario. She may be reached at: annemariehardie1@gmail.com.

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The 2021 EIICA winner is Jumboor Estate in India, represented by BM Nachappa, and voted ‘Best of the Best’ by an independent panel of international culinary and coffee experts. The ‘Coffee Lover’s Choice’ award, designated by a panel of consumers through a blind tasting organised in select illy cafés worldwide, was given to Proyecto Lift Olopita in Guatemala, represented by Alfonso Urbina Perlata. In all, there were 27 finalists – three from each of the nine countries – from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, and Nicaragua.

The international panel – comprised of three-star Michelin chefs Kyle Connaughton, Vicky Geunes and Niko Romito; journalists Josè Carlos Capel, Clark Parkin and Michela Proietti; and coffee experts Sunalini Menon, Birhanu Gebis Wuli and Henry Alirio Martínez Salinas – chose India’s Jumboor Estate as the ‘Best of the Best,’ describing it as an “intense coffee that leaves a silky, delicate and soft sensation on the palate enhanced by notes of chocolate, caramel, citrus fruit, walnuts and a hint of fruit.”

Jumboor Estate is located in the plateaus of India’s northern Coorg district, at an elevation of 950-1000 meters in an area of rich organic soils. Established in 1870, this 390-hectare estate cultivates only Arabica coffee and produces ‘Jumboor Gold,’ a high-quality Yellow Bourbon Arabica variety. In order not to interfere with the flow of pure water from the nearby mountains, which is used during coffee processing, the areas adjacent to watercourses have been left in their natural state, without any crops being grown there.

“This is the first time that India won the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award. This is a country where coffee is grown under the shade of tall trees, usually together with other crops such as peppercorns, vanilla, cardamom, and cinnamon. I am very happy that the prestigious ‘Best of the Best’ award was assigned to a product that is grown in a virtuous manner, demonstrating the potential of this agricultural model as a way to achieve sustainable quality,” said Andrea Illy, chairman of Trieste, Italy-based illycaffè, adding, “the recognition of Guatemala, which with its group of small producers participating in the Lift project won the consumers’ choice award for best coffee, also proves that quality continues to be an important engine to drive sustainable growth among coffee communities.”

Proyecto Lift Olopita, which won the ‘Coffee Lovers’ Choice’ award, was established in 2017 in Guatemala with the goal of bringing together small coffee growers interested in learning about the best farming practices to produce high-quality coffee. So far, this project has brought together 112 families of coffee producers who receive constant training and support on the part of the technical department of Mercon Guatemala, a coffee exporter of which illy is a partner, to help them become full-fledged managers of their family businesses, ensuring better prices for their sustainably produced coffee.

The Coffee Lover’s Choice award is chosen by a panel of consumers, not the international panel of experts. Prior to the award ceremony, Massimiliano Pogliani, CEO of illy, said that the company created the Coffee Lover’s Choice award to include consumers because they play a key role in coffee. “In the end, the consumers are the ones who decide which coffee is going to sell so it is important to include them.”

After the EIICA winner was announced, Andrea Illy thanked all the producers for participating and expressed hope that the 2022 event will be held in person, not virtually.

The event, which was held online for a second consecutive year, was hosted by Lily Cole, a model, actress and sustainability activist. Starting this afternoon (2 December), the video of the awards ceremony will be available on the illy website.

The 27 finalists are listed below, ranked first to third place within their respective countries:

Brazil

Fazenda Agua Viva – José Marques de Araujo

Fazenda Fonte Alta – Maria Claudia Porto

Fazenda Sitio Daniella I – Daniella Romano Pelosini

Colombia

Cabildo Coffee Project, Jambaló – Aracely Vitonco

Women Coffee Project, Caldono – Griceldina Quinayas

Intergenerational Coffee Project, Piendamó – Gerardo Arroyo

Costa Rica

Marespi SA – Johnny Marín Badilla

Coopesabalito RL – Warner Quesada Elizondo

Coope Atenas RL – Juan Carlos Alvarez Ulate

El Salvador

Finca Agua Caliente – José Ernesto Borja Papini

Finca La Providencia – Fernando Alfaro

Finca La Concordia – Carlos Antonio Borja

Ethiopia

Gera Estate – Alemayehu Dagne Asma

International Business Pvt Ltd Co – Seada Shifa

Bechu International Trading Pvt Ltd Co – Darmyelesh Bechere

Guatemala

Proyecto Lift Olopita – Alfonso Urbina Peralta

Finca Joya Grande – Jovita Castillo

Finca Peña Blanca – Pablo Chuy Flores

Honduras

Finca El Cedrón – Gerardo López

Cocasancol – David García

Finca Los Liquidambar – José Humberto Ardón Pérez

India

Jumboor Estate – BM Nachappa

Buskull Estate – Balaraju

Hallihithloo Estate – Mahesh Gowda

Nicaragua

Proyecto Lift – Holman Vicente Rivera Herrera

Finca Santa Isabel – Osman Gregorio Gutiérrez Moreno

Finca California – José Neftali Arauz Herrera

The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award is named after Ernesto Illy, a pioneer of virtuous collaboration with farmers to produce sustainable quality. The EIICA aims to celebrate and reward the best coffee suppliers for the attention and passion they dedicate every day to their work and renew the illy’s commitment to improving the lives of producers and to realise the dream of offering the best coffee in the world. Every year, illycaffè’s quality lab selects the best batches of coffee based on quality and sustainability parameters. The best three producers for each country were selected to take part as finalists for the 2021 EIICA to compete for first place in their respective countries and become one of the nine finalists for the international competition. An independent panel of international experts participated in a blind tasting of the finalists. The coffees were analysed under several different brewing methods – espresso, moka, drip coffee and filter coffee – and the winner was selected because of the richness and complexity of the aroma, the elegance and balance of flavours and the intensity of the aroma.

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Scocchia, a member of illycaffè’s board since 2019, will take the reins from Massimiliano Pogliani, who first joined illy six years ago as the first outside CEO to manage the family-owned business. He ran the global organisation for two consecutive three-year mandates starting in 2016. Pogliani will remain in his role until 31 December 2021.

In announcing the executive change, the company stated that in view of the bullish capital markets and the desire to start a stock listing process, in addition to Pogliani’s interest in pursuing other professional opportunities, the board agreed to bring forward the expiry date of his second term to ensure cohesive management for the entire 2022 financial year.

As illycaffè’s first CEO from outside the illy family, Pogliani contributed to the company’s growth, especially in household consumption within portioned coffee segment and in online sales, as well as realising sustainability achievements and results confirmed by obtaining B-Corp certification.

“With Rhône’s minority stake acquisition in our company this year, Massimiliano Pogliani completed a process of managerial development at illycaffè that he was appointed to accomplish in his role since 2016”, said Andrea Illy, chairman of Trieste, Italy-based illycaffè. “I thank him for his work, and I particularly appreciate his leadership that allowed the company to be resilient during the pandemic including growth in the digital and food channels. For the new expansion cycle that will start in 2022 and in view of a future stock listing, we decided to entrust the leadership to Cristina Scocchia, a talented manager recognised in the development of brands with high aesthetic and experiential content.”

With a degree in business and economics from Bocconi University in Milan and a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Turin, Cristina Scocchia has been CEO of Kiko SpA since July 2017. Previously she worked at Procter & Gamble, holding positions of increasing responsibility, and at L’Oréal Italia, where she held the positions of CEO and chairwoman. She is also a member of the board of directors of Essilor Luxottica.

The announcement of Scocchia as the new CEO follows a series of strategic moves and corporate changes that have taken place within illycaffè over the last year. In November 2020, the company announced it sold a minority stake of illycaffè to affiliates of Rhône Capital, a global private equity firm with a focus on investments in businesses with pan-European, North American or transatlantic presence. In April of this year, illycaffè became the first Italian coffee company to obtain the B Corp certification, awarded to companies that meet the highest standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and responsibility. B-Corp certified companies operate to optimise their positive impact on employees, their communities, and the environment.

Additionally, illycaffè named Jack Edwards president of New York-based illy North America, effective 19 April. He succeeded Barry Shelton, who spent 18 years with the company.

illycaffè also announced that the 6th Annual Ernesto illy International Coffee Awards, which the company bestows upon the best producer of sustainable coffee, will take place 2 December, virtually for the second year in a row.

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Illy has always focused his commitment along two key vectors: sustainability as corporate culture and in favor of the coffee and agricultural sectors; and Made in Italy as a symbol of excellence to increase the country’s competitiveness.

Andrea Illy was awarded for his work as an entrepreneur, as a staunch supporter of the stakeholder company and of corporate responsibility in building a better society.

A “humanist chemist”, as he is often defined, he led illycaffè’s internationalisation while innovating its processes, its culture, and its quest for quality. Today, the illy brand is recognised worldwide for its sustainable quality and its ceaseless support for the world of culture and contemporary art, which it has made available to everyone thanks to the iconic illy Art Collection espresso cups.

An Ambassador of ‘Made in Italy’, during his presidency of the Altagamma Foundation (2013 – 2019) and through his book Italia Felix, Andrea Illy has promoted Italy’s wealth and talents worldwide, highlighting its quest for perfection, the striving for innovation and the creativity inherited thanks to three millennia of beauty and culture.

“I am honoured to have received this very important recognition,” comments Andrea Illy, “Which is very gratifying and which encourages me even more to cultivate my dream of a society that cares for the well-being of people and for the preservation of the environment. What makes ‘Made in Italy’ goods excellent – which is beautiful, good, and well-made – goes hand-in-hand with building a sustainable business model that can generate value for the present and preserve it for future generations. Through our work at illycaffè I will redouble my efforts to promote Italy’s image around the world.”

Andrea Illy says he believes that happiness is a prerequisite for any transition towards a more sustainable and regenerative socio-economic model, so much so that in 2019, when illycaffè adopted benefit corporation status, he institutionalised this commitment. Together with the Ernesto Illy Foundation, of which he is one of the founders, and thanks to important public-private partnerships with local and international institutions, it supports numerous projects for the development of coffee community and the creation of sustainable value chains in producing countries. These activities are the concrete implementation of illycaffè’s philosophy and strategy, and indeed, in 2021 it was the first Italian coffee company to obtain B-Corp certification.

A scholar and an expert in climate change with decades of experience, since 2018 Andrea Illy has been developing a model of ‘virtuous agriculture’ that sequesters atmospheric carbon by enriching soils with organic matter, while growing healthful produce.

The awards ceremony for the 2019 Leonardo Prize (which had originally been scheduled for 2020) took place today at Palazzo Barberini in Rome, in the presence of the President of the Republic.

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illycaffè regards upholding the highest ethical standards as fundamental to its operations. The Trieste, Italy-based company maintains a longstanding commitment to improving the quality of life for all its stakeholders, from farmers to consumers. Recognition by Ethisphere as one of the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies strongly validates illycaffè’s efforts to help create a more sustainable world for many generations to come.

“Maintaining and promoting strong ethics and values are essential to affecting positive change throughout our global society, as is recognising the private sector’s essential role in creating a world that is more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable now and for generations to come,” said Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè SpA. “A current major focus [for us] is reducing our environmental impact throughout the entire supply chain, one meaningful, measurable step at a time, with the ultimate goal to be carbon neutral by 2033. We are proud to be recognised by the Ethisphere Institute for our stewardship and commitment to ethical business practices and thank them for their continued role in inspiring companies to be and do their best for the world.”

“While addressing the tough challenges of 2020, we saw companies lead – above all other institutions – on earning the trust of stakeholders through resilience and a commitment to ethics and integrity,” said Timothy Erblich, CEO of Ethisphere, which defines and advances the standards of ethical business practices. “The World’s Most Ethical Companies honourees continue to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the highest values and positively impacting the communities they serve. Congratulations to everyone at illycaffè for earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies designation.”

illycaffè is the only Italian company to receive this honour and is one of only six recipients in the food, beverage and agriculture category. In total, 135 honourees were recognised spanning 22 countries and 47 industries for 2021. The full list of the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies can be found at worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honourees.

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 to 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.

This year, the process was streamlined, and the question set expanded to gauge how applicants are adapting and responding to the global health pandemic, environmental, social, and governance factors, safety, equity, and inclusion and social justice.

In other news, the sale by Gruppo Illy of a 20% stake of illycaffè to affiliates of Rhône Capital, a global private equity firm, was completed on 25 February. illycaffè chose Rhône as its strategic partner to lead the company into its next phase of international growth, particularly in the US. The partnership with Rhône represents another key milestone to further strengthen the company’s platform and provide resources to execute the long-term plans for the business, which could include a potential future listing.

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This was this second time that I had the privilege of watching Andrea Illy, chairman, illycaffè share his insights about the pandemic and the lessons he learned from investing over 1000 hours studying regenerative agriculture. “We have to consider that the cause of Covid is the same cause as climate change and other imbalances,” said Illy. He stressed that the pandemic has forced us to no longer ignore the impacts of unsustainable actions, and urged the industry to focus on soil health, with an emphasis on carbon enriched soil health, and integrate the principles of virtuous agriculture. “We need to develop a sustainable society, one where we can satisfy our needs without compromising the needs of future generations.”

The talks continued with Carlos Ortiz, global Volcafe way manager, Volcafe, stating that Covid-19 has broken all boxes. But by doing so, it has prompted the industry to align agendas and priorities resulting in different sectors across all countries coming together to share information and solutions. “The virus reminded us that we are in this together and we need to take care of each other.”

Covid was not the only challenge that the coffee industry was faced with in this past year. The presentation by Janina Grabs, postdoctoral researcher, Environmental Policy Lab, Department of Humanities, ETH, Zurich, captured the core challenges that the industry continues to struggle with: climate change and low coffee prices. She described 2020 as a world where crises overlapped, which continue to result in challenges such as migration, poverty and environmental degradation. Grabs urged the industry to rethink the way that we approach sustainability in this new reality, with a strong emphasis on the importance for all sectors to work together.

It was a conference that recognised how each sector of the industry has been impacted, while reflecting on what needed to be done to move forward. The underlying message was clear — the coffee industry can no longer use the past as a barometer for the present. Instead, they need to seek out new ways to connect with customers, innovative ways to support the producers and farmers, and new sale streams. “We are not going to make as many trips to sit and interact in coffee shops for several years,” said Michael Schaefer, global lead, food & beverage, Euromonitor International. “For every player there is a vital and important need to think on how to do this differently and create new ways to interact with the customer.” He painted a picture of a new coffee experience, one where the barista was behind a screen or app, but still provided the consumer with the customised experience that they were seeking. Although, I don’t see myself using an advanced vending machine in my near future, I admit that I have become quite accustomed to ordering my favourite brew from my smart phone. I’m curious to discover how technology will shape the consumer experience and what this could mean for the café industry as a whole.

If there is one thing that Sintercafe demonstrated was that it is possible for all sectors to come together virtually to share their challenges and opportunities. These types of conversations are vital to share knowledge, strengthen relationships and to develop strategies that will build resiliency and sustainably move the coffee industry forward.

• Long-time T&CTJ contributor, Anne-Marie Hardie, is a freelance writer, professor and speaker based in Barrie, Ontario. She may be reached at: annemariehardie1@gmail.com.

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Each October, illy has flown 27 finalists from the top nine countries from which it sources its coffee beans (illycaffè’s quality lab selects the best batches of coffee based on quality and sustainability parameters) to New York City for the award ceremony. The day is split between a breakfast or luncheon conference at the United Nations where the finalists are announced and introduced, in addition to several presentations by notable individuals in the coffee industry and members of illycaffè’s executive team, including the chairman, Andrea Illy; followed by the gala that night (which has been held at venues such as the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center and Rose Hall in the Time Warner Center), where the award winners are announced.

For many of the producers, it is their first time leaving their home countries (illy typically plans several days of sight-seeing around NYC for them). To interact with coffee producers is always a wonderful and enlightening experience, but to see the pride and honour on their faces when being recognised for their efforts, is truly heartwarming. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, the 5th Annual EIICA was held virtually on 3 December. The grand winner was Cooperativa Cocabel from Honduras, which took home, for the first time ever, both top prizes: the Best of the Best and the Coffee Lover’s Choice (which are determined after a series of blind tastings by two independent juries, one comprised of experts and the other of consumers).

While honouring the producers for their lives’ work, the award serves a greater purpose: it fosters sustainability and promotes direct trade between growers and big coffee companies. Each winner receives a contract with illy that guarantees not just a floor price, but a profit. This has been illy’s business model for the past 30 years, over which illy has moved to 100% direct purchase.

In the virtual ceremony, Andrea Illy discussed how the company’s business model has also effected a virtuous cycle of better quality, higher incomes for growers and increased production from emerging regions. Illy spent one year studying what he calls “virtuous agriculture,” the goal of which is to use carbon sequestration in soil to reduce the negative impact of climate change, but it actually has a dual benefit.

“The impact of climate change is exponential — we have to stop it before it becomes irreversible,” said Illy. “Agriculture can do a lot [to help], not only in reducing carbon emissions but also sequestering carbon through soil enrichment.” He said that by enriching soil with carbon and with organic matter, not only is the carbon sequestered from the air, but it makes the soil healthier, which leads to healthier agriculture, more resilient and more fertile soil for healthier plants, which in turn, results in healthier produce and healthier people consuming that produce. “It’s about a dual benefit for the environment and for human health,” Illy stressed.

With this model of virtuous agriculture, illycaffè has set a goal for the company to be carbon-free by 2033, the year of its centennial anniversary.

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com
  Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

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The winner is Honduras’s Cooperativa Cocabel, winning in both categories: Best of the Best and Coffee Lover’s Choice, after a series of blind tastings by two independent juries. The Best of the Best jury is comprised of experts and the Coffee Lover’s Choice is comprised of consumers.

Cocabel is a cooperative with about one-hundred partners located in the municipality of Belen in the department of Lempira in southwestern Honduras. The partners deliver coffee cherries to the cooperative, which then removes the pulps, rinses them, and dries them out in the sun on the patio. Cocabel works closely with BICAFE, a company that runs a coffee warehouse and dry mill near Santa Rosa de Copan and selects high-quality batches of coffee.

Every year, illycaffè’s quality lab selects the best batches of coffee based on quality and sustainability parameters. The countries that stood out during the 2019/2020 harvest were Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua, and Rwanda. The best three producers from each country made it to the final round of the 2020 EIICA, where each national winner became one of nine finalists in the international competition.

An independent panel of international experts, chefs, and food critics conducted a blind tasting of the nine finalists, sampling various preparations – espresso, moka, drip, and filter coffee – and chose a winner on the basis of the richness and complexity of the bouquet, the elegance and balance of flavours, and the intensity of the aroma.

“This time the panel of experts and the consumers agreed with the former qualitative analysis showing it matched consumers’ taste. This is a well-deserved recognition of the extraordinary work carried out day by day with great dedication by men and women from the Cocabel cooperative,” said Andrea Illy, chairman of Trieste, Italy-based illycaffè. The Cocabel cooperative managed to draw together small coffee growers united by the awareness that sustainable quality beings with the plant. With the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award we aim to emphasise the importance of the care that growers put into their plantation, whether large or small, because it is the starting point for a virtuous circle that ends with the cup of coffee being savoured by its final consumer.”

The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award ceremony, now at its fifth edition and named after the son of illycaffè’s founder, is a way to celebrate and reward illy’s best growers for the attention to sustainable quality they bring to their work every day, and to renew the company’s commitment to improve the lives of producers and bring to life the dream of offering the best coffee to the world. The event, held virtually this year, was hosted by Arizona Muse, a fashion model famous for her environmental commitment and, more generally, for her activism in the field of sustainability.

The EIICA ceremony is typically held in New York City in mid-October but was postponed and held virtually due to the pandemic.

The 27 finalists for the 2020 EIICA were:

Brazil:
1 Fazenda Sequoia Minas
2 Haroldo Barcelos Veloso
3 Raimundo Dimas Santana Filho

Colombia:
1 Ascafé – Spirit of Peace Ex Combatants
2 Cooperativa de Caficultores del Norte de Nariño
3 Coocentral – Cooperativa Central de Caficultores del Huila

Costa Rica:
1 Coopeatenas R.L.
2 CoopeSabalito R.L.
3 Marespi S.A.

Ethiopia:
1 Legesse Sherefa Pvt Ltd Company
2 Asma International Business Pvt Ltd Company
3 Bechu International Trading Pvt Ltd Company

Guatemala:
1 Finca El Consuelo
2 Finca La Providencia
3 Finca Peña Blanca

Honduras:
1 Cooperativa Cocabel
2 Finca El Potrero
3 Cooperativa Cafetalera San Francisco Cones Limitada – Cocasancol

India:
1 Rosewood Estate
2 Pura Estate
3 Keserki Estate

Nicaragua:
1 Proyecto LIFT
2 Finca Buenos Aires
3 San Ramón Estate

Rwanda:
1 Nyamyumba Coffee Washing Station
2 Nzahaha Coffee Washing Station
3 Ngamba Coffee Washing Station

The ceremony can be viewed at: https://www.illy.com/en-gb/live-happilly/awards.

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illycaffè chose Rhône as its partner to lead the company into its next phase of international growth after a long and rigorous selection process which took more than a year. Founded in 1933 by Francesco Illy, the Trieste, Italy-based company has built a global premium coffee brand present in more than 140 countries and recognised for the superior quality of its unique blend, as well as for its strong ethical values focused on sustainable business practices and close relationships with the coffee growers’ community.

Rhône was chosen for its ability to contribute to illy’s international footprint expansion, particularly in the US, and will serve as a resource to further strengthen the company’s platform in executing its growth plans. The partnership with Rhône represents another key milestone on the path to firmly establishing illycaffè as a management-led company underpinned by the continued solid strategic vision of the family. This strategic decision will further solidify the global leadership position of illycaffè and complement the generational transition that has already begun with the appointment of the fourth generation of the Illy family to the Board of Directors, who enthusiastically approved this new partnership.

Commenting on the transaction, Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè, said, “We chose Rhône as a travel companion for this next phase of growth because of their deep, global experience in strategically partnering with family-owned companies and based on their ability to understand illy’s unique, premium positioning rooted in its superior quality, longstanding heritage and authentic, sustainable business model. By partnering with illycaffè, Rhône has demonstrated that it shares our inclusive approach to value creation, which considers all our stakeholders and is deployed in combination with the pursuit of the highest ethical standards in running our business. I strongly believe that Rhône will be an ideal partner as we continue to realise our dream of offering the greatest coffee to the world, which is our foundation and uncompromised vision for the future.”

“Rhône has a formidable track record in helping its portfolio companies grow internationally, particularly in the US, a key market in our growth plans,” said Massimiliano Pogliani, CEO of illycaffè. “In addition to Rhône’s partnership approach to investing, I truly welcome their contribution to illycaffè’s board thanks to Rhône’s proven expertise in supporting the implementation of the strategic plans and particularly the initiatives related to digital transformation, a key strategic lever within illy’s plans and a capability that is becoming increasingly relevant in the current business environment.”

Robert Agostinelli, co-founder and managing director at Rhône said, “We are honoured to have been chosen by Andrea Illy and the rest of his family as their partner to support them in their long-term international strategic objectives. illycaffè is a standard bearer of how multi-generational family ownership can shepherd and enhance a sterling brand identity across the globe. We were drawn to the quality of illy’s underlying business, their approach to value creation, and their impeccable ethical standards, which are reflected in both their corporate governance and commitment to sustainability.”

Completion of the transaction is expected to take place by the end of the first quarter of 2021 subject to customary regulatory approvals.

illycaffè has been advised in this transaction by Goldman Sachs International, Studio Sabelli Benazzo and by Studio Gattai, Minoli, Agostinelli and Partners. Rhône has been advised by Credit Suisse, Chiomenti Studio Legale and Paolo Montironi.

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An independent jury of nine top culinary and coffee connoisseurs from around the world gathered for a series of blind coffee tastings, brewed individually from the harvests of nine different countries, to thoughtfully determine the best bean of the 2018-2019 season.

Twenty-seven top grower representatives from nine countries (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua and Rwanda) were recognised and celebrated for their sustainable quality. Each lot, before being examined by the independent jury in New York, was selected through intensive analysis at illy’s Quality Lab and then judged on aromatic richness/complexity, balance/elegance and aroma intensity/strength.

“It is an honor and a pleasure to recognise Colombia, ‘Spirit of Peace’ and Asacafè for their achievement, as well as applaud all of our finalists who are focused on producing the highest-quality coffee through sustainable methods,” said Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè.

“This award celebrates and honors the Spirit of Peace project, that we have supported since the very beginning, with the aim to give a chance for the rural Colombian coffee community to become the engine of a bigger transformation through the economic reintegration of the ex-combatants and their victims in the Cauca region.”

The “Coffee Lover’s Choice” honour was awarded to Rwanda’s Ngamba Coffee Washing Station, represented by Ms. Celine Niwemugeni, for the second consecutive year. Presented by illycaffè CEO Massimiliano Pogliani, the prize was determined by a demanding jury of its own: more than 1,000 discerning visitors to flagship illy cafès locations in London, Milan, Paris, Shanghai and San Francisco.

The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award, named after illycaffè’s visionary, second-generation leader, celebrates the company’s hand-in-hand work with farmers for nearly 30 years to offer the best sustainably grown coffee to the world, as well as its commitment to improving the wellbeing of the world’s coffee growers.

“The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award starts with the unique illy blend, developed consistently year after year, which gives us a deep knowledge of the coffee origins. We then combine this expertise with our direct sourcing model, working hand-in-hand with coffee growers to produce the highest quality Arabica beans sustainably,” said Massimiliano Pogliani, illycaffè CEO.

“Coffee lovers and connoisseurs around the world are becoming more and more interested in learning and understanding not only about aromatic and taste profile typical of a specific terroir – very similarly to what happens int the wine world – but also how their coffee is produced and who produces it. This is the deep meaning of this Award, which wants to shorten the distance and bring together growers & consumers.”

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illycaffè has been recognised for the past seven years, is one of only three honorees in the food, beverage & agriculture industry, and the only company from Italy to receive the distinction. Ethics are a core value for illy, which focuses on creating and sharing superior stakeholder value over time through its commitment to improvement, transparency, sustainability, and people development.

In 2019, 128 honorees were recognised spanning 21 countries and 50 industries. The list illustrates how companies continue to be the driving force for improving communities, building capable and empowered workforces, and fostering corporate cultures focused on ethics and a strong sense of purpose.

“Ethics are essential to the long-term sustainability of any organisation, which is not built overnight, but as a core value that is aligned with measurable commitments and actions”, said Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè.

“The role of the private sector is key to creating a sustainable society, of which companies represent the building blocks. If we want a better society for the next generations, we need to start from better companies. We are proud to be recognised by The Ethisphere Institute and thank them for their continued role in recognising ethics leadership and building a community that advances ethical business practices.”

Ethisphere’s CEO, Timothy Erblich said: “Today, employees, investors and stakeholders are putting their greatest trust in companies to take leadership on societal issues. Companies that take the long view with a purpose-based strategy are proven to not only outperform but last. I congratulate everyone at illycaffè for earning this recognition.”

The accolade comes in the same week illy has lunched its first line of pods compatible with Nespresso machines.

Available in packs of 10, the pods come in three blends:

• Classico, in espresso and lungo
• Intenso, in espresso
• Forte, in espresso

The new capsules will be available to the public from April 2019 in 9 countries (Italy, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria and the United States), and can be purchased in the large-scale retail channel, from the illy e-shop, and in single-brand stores (illy Caffè and illy Shop).

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