Andrea Illy: “Honored by the Leonardo award, a beacon on sustainable business”

“I am honored to receive this very important recognition that gratifies me and encourages me to further cultivate the dream of a company attentive to the well-being of people and the protection of the environment. The beauty, goodness and well-made that distinguish the excellence of Made in Italy, in fact, cannot ignore the construction of a sustainable business model, capable of generating value in the present and preserving it for future generations “. Thus Andrea Illy , President of illycaffè, receiving the Leonardo Award 2019 which is awarded each year, based on the evaluation of a large and qualified Jury, to an Italian or foreign personality who has significantly contributed to affirming and promoting the image of Italy in the world. “Through our work at illycaffè I will commit myself even more than before to help promote the image of Italy in the world” comments the entrepreneur again “on the occasion of the award ceremony which took place today at Palazzo Barberini in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. Illy has always focused its commitment along two lines: sustainability as a business culture and in favor of the coffee and agriculture sectors; Made in Italy as a symbol of excellence to increase its competitiveness. Andrea Illy was awarded as an entrepreneur as a staunch supporter of the stakeholder company and corporate responsibility in building a better company. “Humanist chemist”, as he is often defined, has led the internationalization of illycaffè, innovating its processes, culture and the search for quality. Today illy is a brand recognized globally for its sustainable quality and for its constant support to the world of culture and contemporary art, which it has made accessible to all thanks to the creation of the iconic illy Art Collection cups. Andrea Illy 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 the status of Benefit Company, it institutionalized this commitment. Together with the Ernesto Illy Foundation, of which he is one of the founders, and thanks to important public-private partnerships with international and local institutions, he supports numerous projects for the development of coffee communities and the creation of sustainable supply chains in producing countries. These activities are the concrete realization of the philosophy and strategy of illycaffè which, in 2021, was the first Italian coffee company to obtain the B-Corp certification. A scholar and expert in climate change for decades, since 2018 Andrea Illy has been involved in the development of a model of ‘virtuous agriculture’ which, by enriching the soil with organic matter, sequestered carbon from the atmosphere and generates beneficial products for health. “We are a country with a history, a beauty and a millenary culture and our ingenuity manages to come up with solutions in every field. We can be great leaders in this transition towards a decidedly more sustainable society – continued Illy – Sustainability for us it is a passion, since the time of Illy’s founder, my grandfather Francesco, and we cultivate it because the coffee product comes from nature. We are all children of nature, we must not forget it. 50% of world GDP comes from nature and we should operate in a more respectful way “. Agriculture, he points out,” is now responsible for 28% of greenhouse gas emissions while this figure could be negative if we change the way we do re agriculture. This is our great commitment, because sustainability and quality are two sides of the same coin. The ecological transition is imperative and if we do not decarbonise our planet we would deprive ourselves of the conditions necessary for the survival of our species. At the same time it is also a great opportunity because ecological transition means on the one hand energy transition and on the other the recovery of ecosystems that have been damaged by past history. This is the so-called natural capital, as it is from there that we extract our food. So we could talk about agroecological transition to be placed side by side with the energy one. We are committed to this perspective and even the government, with a systemic vision, understands all the knots of this process and is tackling them effectively “.