What if your morning coffee could help heal the planet?
In the latest episode of Journey to Regeneration, I spoke with Andrea Illy, Chairman of illycaffè and founder of the Regenerative Society Foundation, about how one of the world’s most iconic coffee brands is using regenerative agriculture to confront climate change, improve farmer livelihoods, and even produce better-tasting coffee.
Andrea recounted a turning point at the 2015 Milan Expo, when experts warned that half of the world’s coffee-growing land could vanish by 2050. For a company built on coffee, this was more than an abstract climate projection—it was an existential alarm. Illycaffè responded by charting a new course, one Andrea calls Virtuous Agriculture: a regenerative model that rebuilds soil health, fosters biodiversity from microbes to forests, and ultimately strengthens both human and planetary well-being.
Some highlights from our conversation:
Climate resilience through coffee: illycaffè mapped risks across growing regions and invested in agronomic practices that help farmers adapt while cutting emissions.
From soil to cup: regenerative farming not only sequesters carbon and conserves water, but also delivers award-winning flavor—two recent winners of illy’s top coffee prize came from regenerative farms.
Human and planetary health intertwined: healthier soils → healthier plants → healthier people, with science backing coffee’s role in protecting against disease.
Scaling transformation: illycaffè is spreading regenerative methods across 20 countries, helping growers transition flexibly without heavy upfront costs.
A call to leaders: Andrea’s advice to CEOs curious about regeneration? “Look into it seriously—you’ll find more positive surprises than you can imagine.”
Listen to the full conversation here:
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…
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The regenerative business practices and sustainability innovations highlighted in this week's Regenerative Insights directly tackle the critical issues of corporate responsibility explored in my recent book explored in my recent book, The Profiteers: How Business Privatizes Profit and Socializes Cost.