illycaffè Named One of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute for the Sixth Consecutive Year.

Recognition honors those who operate with purpose and incorporate integrity into their ecosystems.

illycaffè S.p.A., the Trieste, Italy-based global coffee industry leader in quality, direct trade and ethical supply chain practices, has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2018 World’s Most Ethical Companies.

illycaffè was named to Ethisphere’s bellwether list for a sixth consecutive year, and among just a very small handful of honorees in the beverage industry, underscoring the company’s achievement in leading with integrity and prioritizing ethical business practices.

In 2018, 135 honorees are recognized, spanning 23 countries and 57 industries. The twelfth class of honorees had record levels of involvement with their stakeholders and their communities around the world. Measuring and improving culture, leading authentically and committing to transparency, diversity and inclusion were all priorities for honorees.

"Private enterprise creates most of the world’s economic value and it is imperative that businesses conduct their activities to a strict and high ethical code, especially during an era of growing challenges such as climate change and rapid population growth,” said Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè S.p.A and author of Espresso Coffee: The Science of Quality.  “We are committed to the mission and work of The Ethisphere Institute in recognizing, inspiring and guiding the way to ethical business practices, across the spectrum from corporate governance to environmental stewardship.” 

“While the discourse around the world changed profoundly in 2017, a stronger voice emerged. Global corporations operating with a common rule of law are now society’s strongest force to improve the human condition. This year we saw companies increasingly finding their voice. The World’s Most Ethical Companies in particular continued to show exemplary leadership,” explained Ethisphere’s CEO, Timothy Erblich. "I congratulate everyone at illycaffè for being recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies."

Ethics & Performance
Once again, the 2018 World’s Most Ethical Companies have proven that operating with integrity leads to greater financial performance. Research has found that, when indexed, listed World’s Most Ethical Companies outperformed the U.S. Large Cap Index over five years by 10.72 percent and over three years by 4.88 percent. Ethisphere refers to this as the Ethics Premium.

Methodology & Scoring
The World's Most Ethical Companies assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient® (EQ) framework, which offers a quantitative way to assess a company’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized manner. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics.

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35 percent), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20 percent), culture of ethics (20 percent), governance (15 percent) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10 percent). All companies that participate in the assessment process receive their scores, providing them with valuable insights into how they stack up against leading organizations.

Honorees
The full list of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies

Best practices and insights from the 2018 honorees will be released in a report and webcast in March and April of this year.
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