LEGO to replace plastic bricks with environment friendly materials

The LEGO Group is planning to replace its iconic plastic bricks with pieces made from sustainable and environment friendly materials.

The company has announced a huge research investment deal, worth 1 billion Danish Krone, that involves the establishment of a LEGO Sustainable Materials Centre in Denmark.

The LEGO Group seeks to recruit more than 100 specialists to work on ways to build colourful bricks from alternative raw materials.

"This is a major step for the LEGO Group on our way towards achieving our 2030 ambition on sustainable materials," said Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO and President of the LEGO Group.

"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. Now we are accelerating our focus on materials," said Knudstorp.

The LEGO Sustainable Materials Centre organisation will be established during 2015 and 2016, and it is expected that it will include satellite functions located in relevant locations around the globe.

"Our mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. We believe that our main contribution to this is through the creative play experiences we provide to children," LEGO Group owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen said.

In 2012, the LEGO Group first shared its ambition to find and implement sustainable alternatives to the current raw materials used to manufacture LEGO products by 2030.

As an example, in 2014 more than 60 billion LEGO elements were made - and finding alternatives to the materials used to make these bricks would significantly reduce the LEGO Group's impact on the planet.

"The testing and research we have already done has given us greater visibility of the challenges we face to succeed on this agenda and we respond by adding significant resources in order to be ready to move into the next phase of finding and implementing the sustainable materials," Knudstorp added.