THE FEATURE INTERVIEW: LEGO

LEGO BUILDING SYSTEMS

ABOVE: Kids engage with The LEGO Group’s Build the Change campaign to imagine a greener and positive future.

RIGHT: Sine Klitgaard Møller, The LEGO Group’s sustainability transformation director for licensing and extended lines. T he LEGO Group is in the mood for sharing. Why? Because as a business that has placed itself at the forefront of societal development since its creation in 1932, the LEGO Group knows that we face a rather steep mountain. And a problem shared, is a mountain halved.

There’s no avoiding it, if we’re going to achieve the large-scale net zero ambitions or hit those 17 Sustainable Development Goals as laid out by the United Nations by 2030, then the toy and licensing industries have still got some pretty heavy lifting to do.

The LEGO Group, able to trace its externally visible sustainability journey back to 2003 when it became the first toy manufacturer to join the UN Global Compact, yet – effectively – a business that has been zero waste since its inception in 1932 – is in the fortunate position that it has got a head start on the issue at hand. Over each decade of its 90 years, the LEGO Group has been in a state of transition towards better business practices, so it’s little wonder the company has become a leader of industry change.

This is why it’s sharing. To accelerate that change across the industry. To the LEGO Group, the sustainability journey is also one of partnership. It knows that no one company can achieve those goals on its own, but that it will take transparency and collaboration to facilitate a lasting transition that reaches far beyond its own business.

The team is now committed to stripping out single-use plastic from all its packaging by the end of 2025 and is constantly pushing to make its core products from more sustainable sources.

The LEGO Group is moving with purpose on this and recognises the hurdles in the way. But above all, it knows there can be no toy or licensing industry on a dead planet. The time to collaborate is now.

“Sustainability not only makes good business sense, but, more importantly, it’s also the right thing for us to focus on at the LEGO Group,” says Sine Klitgaard Møller, sustainability transformation director for the LEGO Group’s licensing & extended line.

“We are playing our part in building a sustainable future and creating a better world for our children to inherit. This mission also entails joining forces with others to have a lasting impact and inspire the children of today to become the builders of tomorrow.”

It’s with this reasoning that the LEGO Group’s licensing & extended line’s packaging concept lead, Dan Kjaersgaard, attended Brand Licensing Europe this year where he led a series of informal, yet very informative, Sustainable Packaging Design Masterclasses at the Products of Change Sustainability Café.

Building systems is something the LEGO Group has always had at its core, from its conception in the 1930s to its sustainability ambitions for 2025 and beyond. Products of Change chats with Sine Klitgaard Møller, sustainability transformation director for the LEGO Group’s licensing & extended lines, to explore its systems change for the future of sustainability in licensing.

Yes, right there on the show floor. In full view of competitors.

The Masterclass session, intended for anyone and everyone in attendance of BLE this year, was aimed at simply inspiring others whose role touches product packaging with some of the concepts the LEGO Group’s packaging technician had been cooking. We’re talking paper alternatives to hangtags and design solutions to remove plastic from blister packs. Small, but crucial stuff.

The thing is, the LEGO Group knows it’s in a position of influence. It also understands that its goal to remove all single use plastic from its production line by the end of 2025 is going to have an impact on the partners it works with.

Beyond that, the LEGO Group is also on a simultaneous journey to reduce emissions across its entire value chain. In December 2020, the business announced new science-based targets which will see it remove 37% of its absolute emissions by the end of 2032.

“To meet that target, we will have to focus heavily on our Scope 3 emissions, as the vast majority (98%) of the emissions that we are accountable for happen outside our stores, offices, and factories,” says Sine.

“To do so means engaging with the partners in our entire supply chain, something we have been doing since 2014 through our Engageto-Reduce initiative. This programme aims at inspiring and helping our suppliers set specific carbon reduction targets and holding them accountable to this commitment.

“This approach allows the LEGO Group to leverage our position as a global toy company to drive change in the global supply chains.”

It’s no easy task. The team will readily admit that. In fact, during his packaging masterclass, Dan acknowledged the struggle openly, referencing the more than 1,000 touch points that the team must navigate across its global supply chain, just for packaging alone.

On top of that, the LEGO Group is asking all its key licensing partners and suppliers to work towards utilising more sustainable materials in their production. Similarly, they are being asked to switch to more sustainable packaging. Therefore, even for products that are licensed and not manufactured directly by the LEGO Group, the same expectations apply.

“Even if we are not the ones manufacturing the products,” says Sine. “We have an obligation to ensure they live up to the same high standards when it comes to everything from quality to circularity.

“While we know that the opportunity for circularity and reuse is huge, we also know that we need to focus to make the biggest impact. At the present time, we are putting our main focus onto reuse for our core line of products, but of course we will always look at broader opportunities where they are relevant.” The LEGO Group’s journey is one that only continues to gather momentum. In recent years innovation in both its packaging and product line has become front and centre. With its ‘plants from plants’ bio-PE elements derived from sugarcane launched in 2018, the LEGO Group was able to introduce a new, more sustainable version of its trees, bushes, and plants, as well as a lot of its LEGO Minifigure accessories.

In 2021, the team revealed the first prototype of its LEGO brick made from recycled plastic. Meanwhile, the company is building solar parks onsite or nearby its facilities in Vietnam and the US and installing solar panels on its rooftops wherever possible. In fact, the business installed more than 20,000 solar panels across its factories in 2021. Wherever you turn at the LEGO Group, impact is being considered.

And that includes the LEGO Group’s vision for the future. The company is working with policy makers to evaluate sustainability related topics in school curriculums in a bid to drive education around the circular economy among children.

“We are on a mission,” says Sine, “to give children a voice and use their ideas and visions to inspire leaders around the world. We do this through programmes like LEGO Build the Change, which is a powerful way for children to express their hopes and dreams for the future.

“Thus our role will be to help inspire future generations to understand and support circularity principles through their own actions and habits as consumers and the builders of tomorrow.”

ABOVE LEFT: Before and After. LEGO licensed lines packaging undergo a sustainability transformation.

ABOVE: Build the Change is working to introduce circular education into school curriculum.

LEFT: Before and After. LEGO is stripping out single use plastic from all its packaging by 2025

LEFT: Blind bagged for life: All plastic is being stripped out for sustainable alternatives.

Having a clear vision is important to us. Working closely with leading organisations such as POC, we have developed strategies helping us to create a sustainable future for everyone. At Smiffys we take our responsibilities seriously, and whilst we don't have 20/20 vision, we can see the future. And it looks good. This expertise will deliver our vision through eco-friendly goods, recyclable packaging, and a greener supply chain.