Lego's Green Revolution: Transitioning to Renewable Energy

Lego's Green Revolution: Transitioning to Renewable Energy

Lego's Green Revolution: Transitioning to Renewable Energy
Introduction Lego, one of the largest toymakers worldwide, is heading toward a commitment of using 100% renewable and recycled plastics across its entire range of bricks by 2032. This will be part of the company's larger strategy to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, while making a significant contribution toward realizing a sustainable future. Going beyond the obstacles and rise in costs, Lego has determined to stick to its mission for sustainability without pushing the additional cost on to the consumers. Lego's Commitment to Sustainable Plastics Lego makes billions of small plastic bricks annually, and for over ten years, it has been working towards a replacement for plastics derived from crude oil. By the end of 2032, the company will fully walk away from the fossil fuel-based plastics and opt instead for the renewable and recycled ones. The result follows from the voluminous research and testing process of over 600 types of materials, though finding the right one, which will fit in the quality standards of Lego, was quite a challenging job. In pursuit of this change, Lego plastics are offered under commitment agreements with providers of renewable and recycled plastic. The company is ready to pay for the resins 70% more as an encouragement and is seen as something that would prod manufacturers to scale up production to environmentally friendly materials. By 2026, in the next five years, the company intends to have more than half of the resin used in its bricks and packaging be reformed, from 30% at the beginning of 2024. Challenges in Recycled Plastics Markets The recycled and renewable plastics market is still in its infancy, characterized by cost premiums and scale limitations. For sustainable plastics, the subsidized biodiesel takes the lion's share of most of the feedstock, leaving only a very small share to be used in Lego products. According to Neste, which is the largest producer of renewable feedstocks, the cost of sustainable plastics is about twice the cost of fossil-based versions. However, Lego is resolute, despite these hurdles. Their consistent policy on keeping the price unaltered for the market of Lego, even with such a high price of green raw materials, is a big sign that the company is assuming this responsibility. The Lego CEO added that despite the fact said, increasing its prices should be done, as it is required by the situation. Embracing Sustainability in Business Operations What Lego is doing reflects the very broad trend of all major corporations inside the toy industry, which begin to note and take action concerning their development of more sustainable practices. Other major players include Hasbro and Mattel. There are companies that have set a goal to make do with 100% recycled or bio-based plastics in their product lines by the year 2030, such as Mattel. Since the massive plastics overhaul reflects growing appreciation of the need to reduce reliance on virgin fossil fuels, which right now total 90% of production, according to PlasticsEurope, the list goes on. More companies will follow the suit of sustainable commitments with their materials, just like Lego, and the market for recycled plastics will expand. It perhaps serves as that much-needed increase in availability together with cost reduction, for which other industries have it relatively easier to follow suit. This, however, will require further investment, innovation, and collaboration across the supply chain. Lego's Long-Term Vision This journey toward sustainability is another level of realization for Lego in the creation of products that inspire creativity and a healthier planet. Many steps have already been initiated in this direction: reduction of the carbon footprint and raising the productivity in energy of the manufacturing processes. The renewable and recycled plastics initiative adds yet another key component to this strategy. In the future, Lego will aim to reach that 2032 goal while simultaneously searching for the new materials and technologies that would reduce its ecological footprint even more. The business also works with its suppliers towards more sustainable production and under responsible sourcing of raw materials used in its products. Conclusion In this regard, Lego's transition to the use of renewable and recycled plastics remains a big shot toward that end. The change would mean difficulties and much increase in the cost of production, yet Lego is committed to achieving this end without making their customers suffer from stringent price hikes. On a more general level, as the toy industry and other industries shift more and more toward sustainability, Lego's example may create high-level adhesion to the use of green materials and technologies. Source: Reuters

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