Lego, the world’s main toy producer, is taking vital steps to fulfill its internet zero targets by mandating that its suppliers set near-term emissions discount targets by 2026 beneath its new Provider Sustainability Program. This initiative is essential for Lego to remain on monitor with its dedication to lowering its carbon footprint by 37% by 2032 and reaching net zero by 2050.
Carsten Rasmussen, Lego’s Chief Operations Officer, emphasised the significance of sustainability in enterprise operations and provider choice. He acknowledged,
“Sustainability is a license to operate and a requirement of how we do business, including how we select our suppliers. We have ideas and we have a pathway; we cannot do it alone.”
Lego’s Colourful Path to Web Zero
The toy trade produces an estimated 26 million metric tons of greenhouse fuel (GHG) emissions yearly. However the trade hardly ever makes public commitments concerning provider emissions, making Lego stand out with this announcement.
The Danish toy maker’s initiative builds on a 2014 program aimed toward measuring and mitigating the environmental impression of its shut companions, involving 158 suppliers as of December’s sustainability progress report.
The Lego Group’s 2050 net zero emissions pledge contains Scope 1, 2, and three emissions. Notably, 99% of Lego’s emissions stem from Scope 3 actions, which embody all the provide chain.
Setting a long-term objective helps guarantee the corporate achieves its local weather targets, with the instant precedence of assembly its 2032 carbon discount targets. The toy producer employs numerous initiatives to succeed in these targets and has elevated spending on local weather actions by 60% in 2023 versus 2022.
Their main initiatives embody the next and their sustainability 2023 progress:
Growing capability and manufacturing of renewable power at websites:
- Lowered absolute emissions throughout manufacturing websites, shops, and places of work.
- Elevated manufacturing of renewable power in factories and bought renewable power for factories, places of work, and shops.
- Commenced building of a brand new manufacturing facility in Vietnam and broke floor on a brand new manufacturing facility close to Richmond, Virginia, USA, each with photo voltaic services to match whole annual power necessities.
- Elevated photo voltaic capability investments by including 2.2 MWp, bringing peak capability to fifteen.6 MWp throughout manufacturing websites in Denmark, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Mexico, and China (16% improve from 2022).
- Planning to construct a photo voltaic park in Billund, Denmark, to cowl power necessities of places of work and websites within the city, anticipated to be operational in 2027.
Taking CO2 emissions into consideration throughout all enterprise selections:
- Carried out shadow carbon pricing on key investments to encourage low-carbon initiatives.
- Ensured emissions associated to new investments are thought-about earlier than monetary selections.
- Established accountable journey tips to scale back worker journey, significantly worldwide air journey, by 50% by 2032 in comparison with 2019.
Becoming a member of forces with suppliers to collectively cut back environmental impression:
- Continued collaboration with suppliers by means of the Have interaction-to-Cut back program (established in 2014).
- Engaged 158 suppliers in 2023, up from 138 in 2022, marking a 14.5% improve.
An Costly Local weather Dedication
Lego additionally plans to triple its funding in environmental sustainability over the following 3 years, spending over $1.4 billion.
This funding will help designing carbon-neutral factories and buildings, growing renewable power manufacturing and acquisition at its crops, places of work, and shops, and incorporating carbon dioxide emissions into all company selections.
This transfer locations the corporate alongside trade rivals Hasbro and Mattel, who’ve made comparable environmental pledges. In 2022, Hasbro set targets to scale back greenhouse gases by 40% by 2030 and obtain internet zero emissions by 2050. Mattel dedicated to lowering plastic packaging by 25% per product by 2030.
One of many toy trade’s greatest challenges is plastic use; it makes use of practically 1% of worldwide plastic manufacturing.
Lego’s whole footprint for 2022 was about 1.6 million metric tonsup from 1.5 million metric tons in 2021. Discovering options to plastic is a high precedence for the corporate, although lowering plastics and reducing emissions don’t at all times align.
In September, Lego backed away from a dedication to make its bricks totally from recycled plastic because it wouldn’t considerably cut back emissions.
Up to now, Lego has examined over 600 supplies, together with bio-polyethylene, utilized in botanical parts and Minifigure equipment. In 2023, 18% of the resin bought for bricks was from renewable or recycled sources combined with virgin supplies.
From Playtime to Planet-Saving Actions
Moreover, Lego will spend money on international carbon discount initiatives, comparable to supporting carbon seize packages like that of Climeworks. In 2023, Lego entered an settlement with Climeworksinvesting US$2.4 million of their carbon seize and storage companies.
Climeworks focuses on eradicating historic and unavoidable CO2 emissions from the ambiance by means of direct air capture and storage services. The method entails drawing air into massive collector containers, capturing the CO2 on a filter, after which storing the collected CO2 deep underground in Iceland with Climeworks’ storage companion, Carbfix. This CO2 is ultimately reworked into stone by means of an accelerated pure course of.
This initiative displays Lego’s dedication to addressing each present and historic carbon emissions, additional enhancing its efforts to realize internet zero emissions by 2050.
By implementing these measures, Lego is taking a management position in sustainability throughout the toy trade, pushing for broader environmental duty and innovation amongst its suppliers and past.
