B Corp certification is a company’s way to formalize their commitment to transparency and ethical business practices, both in terms of social and environmental impact. Multiple well-renowned coffee roasters have earned the designation, included brands like Onyx Coffee Lab, Coffee Collective, Prolog, Olympia, Cloud Picker, and Equator Coffees as well as importers like Cafe Imports and Caravela. Recently Dean’s Beans Coffee of Massachusetts achieved a B Corp score of 168.5, the highest ever achieved by a coffee company.
There are 260 coffee companies that have achieved B Corp certification, but none of them have been espresso machine manufacturers. But that changes with number 261. La Marzocco is now officially a B Corp.
In order to achieve B Corp certification, a company must score a total of 80 points on the B Impact Assessment that “evaluates a company’s impact across five areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers,” per the B Corp website. La Marzocco achieved a score of 84.4. Their highest marks were in Workers and Environment, at 27.2 and 19.8, respectively.
“We have always pursued excellence, and the B Corp framework is the environment in which we want to operate,” states La Marzocco CEO Lorenzo Carboni, “Our commitment across the five Impact Areas of the Standard reflects the interdependence between our technology, people, and the environment.”
Looking forward, La Marzocco states they will continue to reduce their environmental impact, with a decarbonization pathway that commits the Italian espresso machine manufacturer to “achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire value chain by 2050.”
B Corp certification is a major milestone for businesses seeking to operate ethically. It mandates transparency and offers accountability and quantifiable metrics upon which to build for those who achieve it. Which La Marzocco now has. For more information, visit La Marzocco’s official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
