Earlier this week, the LEGO Group revealed it has moved away from testing the use of plastics from recycled bottles to produce LEGO elements. Although this line of moving towards using sustainable materials to create LEGO bricks has ended, the LEGO Group remains committed to making LEGO elements from sustainable materials. This includes increased spending and testing to find other materials which could be used to make bricks while being sustainable and not increasing carbon emissions beyond current levels or future targets. Also announced today is the appointment of a new Chief Sustainability Officer, Annette Stube. Details on both can be found in the two press releases shared below.
The LEGO Group remains committed to make LEGO® bricks from sustainable materials
BILLUND, September 27, 2023: We wanted to share the facts about our sustainability ambitions and progress.
- We are more committed than ever to making our products and business more sustainable.
- We will triple spending on sustainability initiatives to $1.4 billion in the four years to 2025.
- We are working to make our products from more sustainable and circular materials by 2032.
- We have set ourselves a target to reduce carbon emissions by 37% by 2032 and longer-term, pledged to be net zero by 2050.
- We are also committed to investing in sustainable materials.
So far, we’ve tested more than 300 different materials. Some have been successful, such as bio-PE which we use to make botanical elements and accessories. Other have shown potential, but haven’t met our strict quality, safety and durability requirements or helped reduce our carbon footprint.
One of those materials is rPET. When we announced a prototype, we were optimistic about its potential, but after two years of testing, decided not to progress as ultimately it wouldn’t have helped us reduce carbon emissions. We also believe there are potentially better alternatives that will help us meet our sustainability ambitions.
This is the nature of innovation – especially when it comes to something as complex and ambitious as our sustainable materials programme. Some things will work, others won’t.
We have learned a lot and will apply those learnings as we continue to develop new materials and explore other ways to make our bricks more sustainable.
We believe it’s important we’re transparent about our sustainability efforts.
It’s a challenge we all share, and it’s something we know kids care about. We receive hundreds of letters from children each year with ideas of how we can be more sustainable. We want them to know we’re listening and trying hard.
We look forward to continuing to share our progress. LEGO.com/Sustainability
The LEGO Group appoints Chief Sustainability Officer
Annette Stube to join January 1, 2024
BILLUND, September 27, 2023: The LEGO Group today announced it has appointed Annette Stube as its Chief Sustainability Officer. Annette, who is currently Executive Vice President and Head of Sustainability at Stora Enso will join the company on January 1, 2024.
The role will report to Chief Executive Officer, Niels B Christiansen and be responsible for leading the company’s environmental sustainability vision and strategy and working with operations, product development and marketing teams to deliver company-wide plans and targets. Annette will also support the LEGO Group’s external environmental communications and engagement activity.
Niels B Christiansen said: “We are excited to have Annette join us to further advance our sustainability ambitions. Delivering on our Planet Promise is one of our most urgent and important challenges. While we have made significant progress over the past few years to reduce the impact our business has on the planet, we have much more to do. We have set ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions, make our products and packaging more sustainable and circular, and run zero impact operations. Annette has a strong track record in helping companies and governments drive systemic change which delivers lasting environmental impact.”
Annette Stube said: “I am excited to join the LEGO Group and be part of the team helping to create a better environment for the benefit of future generations. There are very few companies who have children as their primary customers, which reminds us that the need for change is very real and urgent. It is encouraging to see the LEGO Group prioritise investments and resources against accelerating its sustainability ambitions and I am looking forward to playing my part to deliver those.”
Annette brings to the LEGO Group more than 25 years’ experience working in sustainability. Prior to her role at Swedish-Finnish renewable materials company, Stora Enso, she worked at Maersk as head of sustainability for more than ten years. Before that she held senior sustainability roles at Novo Nordisk. She is currently a member of the Presidency for WWF, Denmark, and has acted as an advisor to the Danish Government on a range of sustainability topics. Annette co-authored Squaring the Sustainability Circle and has been an Adjunct Professor at Copenhagen Business School for the past 10 years.
