Sustainability - Blend for Better

In Lavazza Group, we ‘blend’ the values, experiences and sustainability efforts we develop through our brands and products, as well as those supported by our non-profit Giuseppe and Pericle Lavazza Foundation, to generate shared social value, from producer communities and our people through to consumers.

Blend for Better embraces the responsibility taken on by the Company and its brands, which translates into our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and into a structured programme of activities organised in four areas:

· Spin a virtuous cycle: we adopt a ‘sustainable by design’ approach across all stages of the product lifecycle, in line with the principles of the circular economy: from sustainable agricultural practices to minimising the impact of products through to their end of life.

· Care for the environment: we are committed to minimising the impact of our operations, working with international organisations and NGOs to promote projects that raise awareness about environmental issues.

· Educate for change: we invest in human capital, providing our people with tools to develop skills and generate opportunities.

· Open up opportunities: we promote an ongoing focus on social issues through a wide range of initiatives that engage with our collaborators, producer communities and suppliers, in the attempt to build a prosperous and sustainable future.

In 2015, we signed up for the United Nations 2030 Agenda, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and joined the United Nations Global Compact, a programme in which businesses work together to achieve its objectives. 

For even more effective integration of the SDGs into our corporate objectives, we have identified the Sustainable Development Goals on which our operations have most impact. The four Priority Goals to emerge from this process are the four main SDGs directly connected with the company’s objectives, which we work to develop in our business strategy and all sustainability programmes.

Finally, common to all these Priority Goals and essential for their achievement is ‘Goal 17 – Partnerships for the Goals’, which is a tool designed to strengthen sustainable development programmes.

To the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified by the United Nations, we have added one of our own, Goal Zero, which aims to spread the message of the SDGs among our main stakeholders: employees, shareholders, partners, suppliers, local communities, government and consumers. This resulted in the development of a programme of activities that aim to create a culture based on the SDGs, one that gives shape to a strong sense of responsibility and helps set the engine of change in motion. 

The most important of these include the 2018 Lavazza Calendar by photographer Paton and the 2019 Calendar ‘Good to Earth’; ‘2030: What are WE doing?’, the in-house awareness-raising programme that engaged actively with all our People to tell stories of ‘ordinary’ sustainability; the urban art initiative ‘Toward2030. What are you doing?’, which transformed the city of Turin, from the centre to the outskirts, into a megaphone for the UN Goals using the universal language of street art as its medium. Other initiatives on the same theme are a series of collaborations with partners that share our values on a profound level, such as the MUSE Science Museum in Trento (Italy) where we created the Sustainability Gallery and the Goal Zero Area.