Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS joins CCA to advance regenerative landscapes

Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS joins the Cerrado das Águas Consortium to accelerate the transition to regenerative landscapes

The partnership strengthens the platform's actions to promote resilient water management and the construction of regenerative landscapes in the Cerrado Mineiro

By ASCOM CCA in partnership with Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS

Patrocínio-MG, February 2, 2026. The Cerrado das Águas Consortium (CCA) announces the entry of Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS as a new member of its collaborative platform. Its arrival acts as a strategic catalyst for the multisectoral network, which promotes water resilience, climate-smart agriculture, and the regeneration of productive landscapes in the Cerrado Mineiro in an integrated manner, increasing the potential impact of actions already underway in the region.

The entry of Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS into the movement reinforces its international track record in promoting coffee quality, innovation, and sustainability. The partnership with CCA expands the activities of both institutions, enhancing actions that support producers, strengthen local water governance, and promote productive landscapes that are more resilient to climate change.

By joining the CCA's collaborative platform, Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS will actively contribute to a collective agenda that connects science, production, conservation, and the market, reaffirming its commitment to the future of the Cerrado Mineiro and to coffee farming that generates environmental, social, and economic value in an integrated and sustainable manner.

"We are extremely proud to announce Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS's support for the Cerrado das Águas Consortium over the next five years. This collaboration stems from a common goal of integrating regenerative agriculture practices with targeted restoration techniques in specific areas of the Cerrado by planting native species, making them more resilient to climate change and contributing to the conservation of water resources. This project responds to Fondazione Ernesto Illy's priorities of contributing to ecological transition and nature conservation. We are convinced that, together, we can generate lasting value for agricultural communities and for the future of the Cerrado Mineiro," reveals Anna Illy, president of Fondazione Erne.

Positive impact results

The partnership comes at a crucial moment of expansion. In 2025, the CCA consolidated the monitoring of 4,046 hectares through the Conscious Producer Investment Program (PIPC). With the Foundation's support, this initiative gains technical robustness to accelerate the transition of properties in adopting practices that integrate soil conservation, efficient water management, and vegetation cover, ensuring business resilience in the face of climate change.

The CCA has already recovered 200 hectares in ecological restoration projects. With the support of Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS, initiatives such as the “Ecological Restoration and Coffee” project, approved in the Floresta Viva public notice, are being reinforced. This project invests more than R$ 4.1 million and provides for the restoration of 202 hectares, the development of 25 Climate Adaptation Plans, training for producers, and hydrological and climate monitoring in strategic basins in the Cerrado Mineiro region.

The partnership's long-term vision is the “Regenerative Landscape of the Cerrado Mineiro” project, launched in 2025 and currently underway. It envisions the creation of an ecological corridor, has already mapped around 2,000 properties, and aims to transform 20,000 hectares into regenerative transition by 2030, connecting conservation, agriculture, and socioeconomic development in the region, with the potential for expansion to 55 municipalities in the Cerrado Mineiro.

“The arrival of Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS validates the CCA's collaborative platform model and enhances our ability to transform the territory. Together, we are building landscapes where coffee production and water security go hand in hand, ensuring that tomorrow's water is the result of the innovation and care we apply today,” says Fabiane Sebaio, Executive Secretary of Cerrado das Águas.

About Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS

Created to protect, promote, and disseminate the thinking and figure of its patron, Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS is a corporate institution that expresses the values of the entrepreneurial family. It was established on October 30, 2008, and is chaired by Anna Illy. In line with Ernesto Illy's thinking, the value that underpins the institution is Ethics, understood as a guiding principle that regulates all human activities and a sense of responsibility towards Nature and others. The institution protects and disseminates Ernesto Illy's thinking through scientific research and innovation, education and the dissemination of knowledge, as well as the implementation of sustainability and philanthropy projects dedicated to the coffee production chain. Its activities are mainly focused on the fields of coffee science and culture, as well as the training and capacity building of producers and professionals in the production chain. Special attention is given to agronomic research through the Virtuous Agriculture and Ernesto Illy Colloquiums projects, with the aim of supporting producing countries and farmers themselves in improving their living conditions and identifying innovative solutions for the cultivation of coffee in the future, in addition to training initiatives such as the Master's Degree in Coffee Economics and Science.

Learn more at: https://fondazionernestoilly.org/en/the-foundation/

About Cerrado das Águas

The Cerrado das Águas Consortium is a collaborative platform that includes various sectors, such as companies, government, and civil society. The CCA is an initiative of the coffee production chain that seeks to build water resilience in the Cerrado Mineiro region through strategies that promote better land use, ensuring the continuity of coffee production in the region and mitigating the impact of climate change.

Through the Conscious Producer Investment Program (PIPC), the CCA team guides, supports, and encourages producers to implement strategies for the provision of ecosystem services, with a focus on improving the supply of water resources to all producers whose properties are adjacent to a given basin, making the region resilient to climate change. As a result, the CCA has 202 hectares of preserved native vegetation, 4,000 hectares of agricultural land in transition to regenerative agriculture, and 150,000 people benefiting from the program.  

The initiative's associate members include the following companies: Nescafé, Expocaccer, Nespresso, Lavazza, Cooxupé, Cofco International, Volcafe, NKG Stockler, Daterra, Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation, CerVivo, Starbucks Farmer Support Center, JDE Peet's, EISA, X-Farm, and Fondazione Ernesto Illy ETS. In addition, the platform has key partners such as the Municipal Government of Serra do Salitre and the Municipal Government of Coromandel.