The three legs of ethics

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illycaffè’s approach to sustainability has three essential legs: source, knowledge and a sustainable price. This is not a zen pathway (although they have something in common) but “the illy method for sustainability”.It begins with the countries that produce green coffee, where illycaffè works directly with the growers, passing on its know-how, helping to improve cultivation, purchasing the coffee and rewarding a commitment to quality. This collaboration involves the individual growers, but often strengthens entire production systems with long-term investments ensuring lasting growth

The source: this means direct relationships with growers without using any intermediaries. The best growers are found through the illy Quality Award in the countries where this system has been instituted. The annual award is dedicated to the best producers of Arabica coffee. Elsewhere, illy agronomists and tasters patiently comb the countries to identify the very best producers. illy has purchased raw material at source for twenty years now, opting for one-on-one relationships with growers, and favoring information sharing. illy agronomists and technicians know the Arabica growers, their families and their helpers personally, and are aware of their problems and hardships.

Knowledge: the illy Method is inspired by the principle of circular knowledge. The team of illy agronomists and researchers transfers all the corporate culture accumulated over many years of research and experience to the growers, through refresher and training courses, the University of Coffee, education centers, coffee propagation texts and practical lessons in the field. This is to ensure that the agricultural techniques and the harvesting and processing methods are carried out in the best possible way, with a low environmental impact. illy also partners with local universities to teach the farmers how to use new equipment and technology. Each year illy's team of agronomists dedicates an average of 300 days to such training.  This collaboration now extends to growers in Guatemala, Ethiopia, India and other southern hemisphere countries whose coffee plantations, producing the finest Arabica beans, are one of the their few sources of sustenance and economic growth.

 

Sustainable price: For the quality of green coffee in the countries of origin to steadily improve, the growers’ standards of living must also steadily improve, and the growers must feel confident that they will receive a stable income. For over sixteen years, illycaffè has been paying its nearly 4000 coffee growers worldwide a sustainable price established each harvest, to allow them to earn a steady profit at all times. The price is calculated by adding a fair margin, like a surcharge, to the price based on the international stock market (NYSE). This margin takes all the production costs into account and repays the producers for the utmost care they take with their quality crops. This guaranteed, stable income is helpful both to the growers and to the whole communities living on plantations. It works as an incentive and reward for not abandoning the countryside for the cities which is unfortunately a worldwide phenomenon.