LEGO to phase out fossil fuels in plastic products

Danish toy maker LEGO Group has announced that it will invest $140 million in a major effort to replace its fossil fuel-based plastic products with products using more sustainable materials by 2030. The company has begun to set up its new LEGO Sustainable Materials Centre at its headquarters in Billund and plans to hire more than 100 new employees to support its effort to develop sustainable alternative plastics. LEGO currently uses about 6,000 tons per year of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) to produce its annual total of more than 60 billion LEGO elements. The styrene in ABS is made from benzene and ethylene, while the butadiene is made primarily from butane and acrylonitrile is made from ammonia and propylene. In addition to establishing the new center, LEGO will collaborate with other organizations in alliances like the Climate Savers partnership it formed in 2013 with the World Wildlife Fund. “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,” said Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, LEGO Group’s president and CEO, in announcing the initiative. “Now we are accelerating our focus on materials.”