The Sustainability Report
Transparency towards our stakeholders is a fundamental principle that guides our Group in all its activities. This desire for transparency also translates into our decision to draft an annual, voluntary, Sustainability Report for the Group. Published for the first time in 2015, the document reports each year on the Company’s sustainability journey, reflecting its commitment across the globe through its main businesses.
Since its very first edition, we have drafted the Sustainability Report in compliance with Global Reporting Initiative Standards, the main internationally recognised criteria for reporting sustainability performance. We subject the report to a limited audit by an external assurance company, who issue an audit letter published within the Report.
Analysing the impacts of our activities, we have identified the four top-priority pillars of sustainability for us to concentrate on over the coming years: Goal 5 - Gender Equality; Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth; Goal 12 - Responsible Production and Consumption; Goal 13 – Climate Action.
To these we have added “Goal Zero”, created by us for the purpose of spreading the message of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to the Company’s main stakeholders.
Our Foundation
With the formation of the Lavazza Foundation in 2004, we began our commitment to social, environmental and economic sustainability, with a special focus on the coffee-producing communities to which we dedicated 32 measurable projects in 2021, benefiting over 136,000 coffee growers in 20 countries across three continents. These programmes, implemented with the collaboration of local community players, have the aim of improving coffee yield and quality, at the same time as promoting both entrepreneurship among growers and improvements in their living standards, and of encouraging gender parity and the involvement of the new generations.
Our Roadmap
Impact measurement and reduction: we carefully assess the environmental impact of all our production facilities; at our French, Canadian and UK sites, and all those in Italy, 100% of the electricity used is from renewable sources. As a result of our Sustainable Packaging Roadmap, 65% of the Group's packaging today is already recyclable, with peaks of 95% in flexible packaging.
Offsetting: we are committed to a comprehensive strategy for offsetting emissions that cannot be reduced: with 830 thousand tonnes of carbon credits purchased, we have supported projects that have helped protect 900,000 hectares of forests, offset 270,000 tonnes of CO2, and provide 37 thousand people with access to clean water.
Decent work and economic growth
We work actively with many non-governmental organisations, including Save the Children: as a business and through our Foundation, we have reached 100,000 children and adolescents who have benefited from the projects developed during our 20-year partnership with this important organisation.
In 2021, we worked with 93 NGOs on projects to promote the role of young people and women’s empowerment.
We are among the top 50 companies globally in the 2022 Global RepTrak ranking of the 100 Most Reputable Companies, and the only one in the beverage segment.
The integration of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 into the Group’s strategies.