Ethisphere names illycaffè among the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies
For the ninth consecutive time, illycaffè SpA has been recognised by Ethisphere as one of the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies. The recognition honours companies that lead, make hard but values-based decisions, and demonstrate an overall commitment to integrity.
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.