Lego Commits US$2.4m to Climeworks for Carbon Removal

As part of its goal to achieve net zero emissions, the Lego Group has entered a US$2.4m agreement with climate removal specialist Climeworks. 

“We want children to inherit a healthy planet – and we’re determined to play our part in making that happen,” says Annette Stube, Chief Sustainability Officer at the LEGO Group. 

“To succeed we must take action to drive systemic change.”

The agreement is in line with the Lego Group’s plans to double annual spending on environmental initiatives by 2025, which has already increased by 60% from 2022 to 2023. 

While the removal is only part of the company’s sustainability strategy, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) endorses carbon dioxide removal as “necessary to achieve net negative CO₂ emissions”, and the initiative will support Lego on its net zero by 2050 goal.

“We were the first large toy company to announce a science-based emissions reduction target in 2020 and we want to continue to lead the way in finding innovative solutions for the challenges we face,” shares Annette. 

“This is why we are working with innovators like Climeworks – their technology, as part of a varied programme of initiatives, can help us and society as a whole realise the net-zero future that is needed to protect our planet for generations to come”.

Alongside removal of carbon dioxide, Lego is working to reduce emissions from its factories, offices, stores and supply chain, in line with its SBTi approved 37% reduction in emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2032 in comparison to 2019. 

Climeworks: Meet the carbon removal specialists

The world’s first – and largest – direct air capture and storage (DAC+S) commercial plant was opened by Climateworks in Iceland in 2021, designed to remove CO₂ from the air and store it underground. This is due to be followed by a second plant in Iceland in May 2024 which will have a nominal CO₂ capture capacity of up to 36,000 tons per year and will be powered by local, renewable geothermal power. 

“We’re proud to partner with a sustainability leader like the LEGO Group who takes bold steps to make net zero happen,” says Jan Huckfeldt, Chief Commercial Officer at Climeworks. 

“We see demand growing across diverse sectors, including consumer goods, which shows that carbon removal rightly has a place in every company’s net zero strategy.”

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