17 photographic portraits, 17 ambassadors, 17 Sustainable Development goals: the Lavazza calendar becomes an artistic megaphone for the UN 2030 planet safeguarding challenge.

Lavazza calendar “2030 What Are You Doing?” presented today:
Massimo Bottura, Jeremy Renner, Alexandra Cousteau, Andre Agassi and Carlo Petrini are some of the 17 ambassadors of sustainability who - in the artistic portraits by photographer Platon - encourage all citizens, institutions and companies to work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.    

Milan, 29 November 2017 – And you, what are you doing? The question asked by the Lavazza 2018 Calendar is direct and unfiltered, and it resonates powerfully in the 193 United Nations member states. This question reminds us all that 2030 - the ultimate deadline identified by the UN for transforming the planet into a more sustainable place - is just around the corner. Actually, 2030 is already here in the 17 photographic portraits by Platon in the “2030 What Are You Doing?”: the new Lavazza calendar is the first artistic megaphone for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs) on the global scenario. It discusses them through the concrete commitment of 17 Sustainability Ambassadors, men and women who are determined to turn food waste into a meal for the poorest among us and a plastic bottle into a shared source of light, to educate children, train disadvantaged young people and marginalized women to work, protect the sea and biodiversity, tackle climate change, and fight for an economy based on nature and life. 

 What are you doing? From the chef Massimo Bottura to the American actor Jeremy Renner. From the advocate on water issues Alexandra Cousteau to Slow Food founder  Carlo Petrini. From tennis champion Andre Agassi  and  Jeffrey Sachs, director of the UN Network for Sustainable Development, through to the initiator of The Blue Economy Gunter Pauli and Rainforest Alliance co-founder Daniel Katz. The 17 shots by Platon are portraits that dig into the soul of the 17 protagonists and all of us, presenting us with an inescapable question - 2030 What Are You Doing? - and reminding us of how close 2030 is, while the road to reach the 17 goals is still an uphill battle. So, the 2018 Lavazza calendar – the result of a creative project by the Armando Testa agency – is a call to arms, first of all individual, and then collective. 

“The question behind the title of the 2018 Lavazza calendar is direct and deliberately provocative. What are you doing? All of us, citizens, companies, political and social institutions, are called upon to respond and commit to make a difference. The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals are the way to go to protect the planet, but 2030 is ever closer and activating a virtuous thrust in all of us is more urgent that ever - says Francesca Lavazza, member of the Company’s Board of Directors -. That is why we have decided to support the UN’s 17 SDGs and to interpret them for the first time in an artistic way thanks to Platon, a master of contemporary photography. We want to popularize this universal commitment for 2030, to disseminate and make these issues and their protagonists known; this is the only way to turn people, young people in particular, into the real game changers of the future. We want to be the founders of a positive revolution, inspire and awaken common sense, for us to be ambassadors of the change we want to see in the world”.

The true inspiration behind the Lavazza calendar “2030 What Are you Doing” is Jeffrey Sachs. Professor at Columbia University and Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the Sustainable Development Goals, Sachs is one of the sustainability ambassadors portrayed by Platon, interpreting, along with his wife Sonia, Goal number 17: Partnership for objectives. “All 193 Member States of the United Nations - says Sachs - adopted the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, to steer the world away from the growing dangers of environmental destruction and towards a future that could be one of prosperity, health, education and peace. Now, after 2 years, we are still far from reaching these 17 Goals, which are certainly ambitious, but achievable by 2030: the key is global cooperation, a key principle that affects all of us, not only governments, but also individuals, companies, universities and other players in civil society. The Lavazza Calendar celebrates this global commitment and reminds us all of what is at stake. My hope, and my belief, is that it can inspire many others to embrace the cause of sustainable development”.

What are you doing? The controversial question at the heart of the 2018 Lavazza Calendar hits you straight in the eyes and penetrates your conscience, uncomfortable and unfiltered, thanks to the revolutionary objective of Platon, a British photographer and storyteller of Greek origin. He is appreciated all over the world as the “photographer of the powerful”, having portrayed and captured the soul and humanity of the most influential world leaders, business giants and show business icons. “With the Lavazza calendar ‘2030 What Are You Doing? ’ we want to turn the spotlight - says Platon - on a new group of cultural heroes, giving them all the power they deserve. With this project I have sought, in my role as a cultural provocateur, to trigger a respectful debate on the issues that must guide our conscience, and on the importance of positive leadership. Because here there is no negativity, and no accusations are leveled, there are only energy and passion: it is therefore a positive revolution. These are 17 extraordinary stories, which can be a source of inspiration and become the engine behind a community of responsible global citizens, motivated by compassion and a profound spirit of service towards others”.

Giving a face to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and telling the story of an example, or an inspiration for each Goal: this is the great challenge that Lavazza has decided to undertake with Platon under the creative direction of Armando Testa. “After three years defining the Defenders of the Earth - the modern heroes engaged in feeding the planet in a fair and sustainable way in Africa, Latin America and South East Asia - great artistic photography becomes a spokesperson for the urgency of a universal social commitment, which nobody can ignore. After Newton, Annie Leibovitz, LaChapelle, Steve McCurry and many other masters of contemporary photography, we have identified in the sensitivity of Platon, a storyteller and great connoisseur of the human soul, the perfect interpreter to portray the 17 SDGs artistically. The 26th edition of the Lavazza Calendar also marks a return, after 16 years, to black and white: a treatment that through Platon’s objective becomes modern; a direct and no-frills style that shows us our protagonists in the most authentic way possible. A black and white that promotes reflection, profound introspection, perfect for a universal theme such as the commitment to saving the planet”, adds Michele Mariani, Executive Creative Director of Armando Testa.

Lavazza, through an Integrated Communication Project, will give visibility via a television campaign of 5 video stories, to some sustainability ambassadors such as Jeffrey and Sonia Sachs, Carlo Petrini, Alexandra Cousteau, Massimo Bottura and Andre Agassi. In addition, the Lavazza 2018 calendar (available online at Calendar.lavazza.com) calls on citizens, representatives of institutions, companies and all sections of civil society to become aware and amplify the reach of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals until the 2030 milestone. As of today – thanks also to the collaboration with ASviS – you can make your commitment to be Ambassador of sustainability and contribute to the “contagion” of responsibility on social media with the hashtag #2030whatareUdoing. 

#2030whatareUdoing @Lavazza