The journey towards a sustainable product Allan V. Rasmussen January 2016
Look who s talking Name: Allan V. Rasmussen Master of Science in Chemical Engineering DTU 1997 HD in Marketing Management SDU 2000 Worked with The LEGO Group for 8 years with long term material innovation Before: Working with plastic since 1997 Before: Managing director at Color System A/S E-MBA / MMT AAU 2012
When I grow up...
LEGO at a glance 3,830 million Danish family owned 28,578 million 33,9% turnover 2014 operating margin 14,76 2 Sold in more than More than 60% employees End 2014 10 years of consecutiveg rowth 140 countries of this year s sales are novelties Figures per ultimo 2014.
What are we creating?
The material story of The LEGO Group The bio-based material Cellulose Acetate was used for the first injection moulded toys and LEGO bricks. Cellulose Acetate was not good enough for LEGO elements Thus, since the 1960 s ABS and other petrochemical based polymers have been the basis for production of LEGO elements.
The current production More than 5.000 moulds A lot more than 1000 moulding machines Three moulding sites: Denmark, Mexico and Hungary + start up in China Packing and decoration: Czech Republic Distribution centres: USA and Czech Republic
The current production More than 3.000 element shapes Even a lot more considering different colors
The current material situation More than 70.000 tons per year ABS roughly 70% PC, PA, POM, PP, LDPE, HDPE, MTPO, SEBS, TPU Dual sourcing More than 50 colours Self colouring Red is red
Differentiated level of friction Controlled friction Low friction Controlled friction
Why is friction important? The child must be able assemble a model with the power of the hands and fingers. The model must be stable enough for active play The child must be able to take apart the elements and use them for a new model
What do our consumers expect?
The future LEGO elements have now been produced in petrochemical based polymers for more than 50 years What about the next 50 years?? 1966 2016 2066
Planet promise zero product recalls WWF UNICEF Partnerships 91% recycled waste 85 mio. children had a fun, creative play experience with LEGO products in 2014 Injury rate Smaller boxes use 14 100% 1.7 2,3 % energy efficiency increase % less cardboard renewable energy by 2020 Figures per ultimate 2014.
Investing in Windfarm Our goal is to be 100% balanced by renewable energy by 2020 Windfarm inaugurated October 9th, 2015 In 2012 KIRKBI A/S invested EUR 400 million in the wind farm Borkum Riffgrund 1. DONG Energy A significant step towards our 2020 goal
What matters and why? Environmental Impact Assessment 75% impact is with our suppliers, materials and design 10% impact is in our production 15% impact is in the consumer & disposition phase Address 85% of our environmental impact Identify and prioritize impacts Climate Change Reduce our carbon emissions Resources Source and use materials responsibly
How to achieve this? 2016 SHORT TERM GOALS LONGER TERM ASPIRATIONS Climate Change Renewable Energy LEGO Emissions Secure on and off site renewable energy 100% 2.5 % energy efficiency year over year renewable energy by 2020 Supplier Emissions CO 2 reductions pilot program at key suppliers CO 2 reduction program across strategic suppliers Design & Materials 100 % FSC certified print & packaging 75 % recycled content of packaging Materials Strategy : Pursuing sustainable materials by 2030 Resources Waste Achieve 95% landfill diversion Continuously work to achieve zero waste in production
Sustainable Materials By 2030 we will find and implement sustainable alternatives to our current materials Sustainable Materials Center DKK 1 billion kroner investment 100+ employees to work on the challenge Materials for packaging and LEGO elements It is our ambition to implement sustainable materials - without compromising: Product Safety The LEGO Play Promise Product quality and durability
Compatibility in time Whenever I meet new people on conferences like this LEGO elements are passed from generation to generation. Consumers decide how to combine elements in a model.
Key contributors Universities & technology institutes Brand owners/end users Suppliers and supply chain parties The LEGO Group 2030 Materials Ambition NGO s
Work with bio-plastics There is a large variety of bio-based og semi bio-based materials and recycled materials on the market. We have tried most or at least a lot And we continue to monitor what happens
How about change?
It is a balance we need to integrate
Thank you