Sustainable Agriculture

Host Christopher Marquis speaks with Andrea Illy, Chairman of illycaffè and founder of the Regenerative Society Foundation, in this latest episode. As a third-generation leader of the iconic Italian coffee brand, Andrea shares how illycaffè is evolving from sustainability toward regeneration—embedding principles of beauty, quality, and shared value into its business model. With coffee as the starting point, Andrea explains how the company invests in soil health, farmer livelihoods, scientific research, and education across the global South. He highlights illycaffè’s long-term commitment to biodiversity, carbon neutrality, and smallholder resilience, showing how regeneration can be both an ecological and economic imperative. Andrea also tells the story of illycaffè’s work in Brazil, where regenerative practices like agroforestry and reduced agrochemicals have restored ecosystems while elevating coffee quality—producing award-winning beans that prove environmental renewal and excellence can go hand in hand.

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