Lego plans to use green resources for iconic plastic toys

The Lego Group, the Danish toy maker of iconic plastic bricks, is reportedly working on finding sustainable ways to produce plastic raw materials for its toys. For this, the group has established Lego Sustainable Materials Centre. The company expects to recruit more than 100 employees in a significant step up on the 2030 ambition of finding and implementing sustainable alternatives to current materials.
 
The company last month also announced DKK 1 billion (about $ 145 million) investment dedicated to research, development and implementation of new, sustainable, raw materials to manufacture Lego elements as well as packaging materials.
 
Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO and president of the Lego Group, said, “This is a major step for the Lego Group on our way towards achieving our 2030 ambition on sustainable materials. We have already taken important steps to reduce our carbon footprint and leave a positive impact on the planet by reducing the packaging size, by introducing FSC certified packaging and through our investment in an offshore wind farm. Now we are accelerating our focus on materials.”
 
The investment will result in the establishment of the Lego Sustainable Materials Centre. The centre will be based at the Lego Group’s headquarters in Billund, Denmark, and include all current functions and employees working to find alternative materials. In addition, the Lego Group expects to recruit more than 100 specialists within the materials field during the coming years to work on this challenging ambition.
 
The Lego Sustainable Materials Centre organisation will be established during 2015 and 2016, and it is expected that it will include satellite functions located in relevant locations around the globe. In addition, the centre will collaborate and develop partnerships with relevant external stakeholders and experts.
 
The decision to significantly boost the search for sustainable materials was taken at the recent General Assembly of the Lego Group in May 2015.
 
In 2012, the Lego Group first shared its ambition to find and implement sustainable alternatives to the current raw materials used to manufacture Lego products by 2030. The ambition is part of the Lego Group’s work to reduce its environmental footprint and leave a positive impact on the planet our children will inherit. As an example, in 2014 more than 60 billion Lego elements were made – and finding alternatives to the materials used to make these bricks would significantly reduce the Lego Group’s impact on the planet.