Replacing fossil fuels with cleaner energy sources is a critical component of global strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change. Energy transitions on national, industry and local levels are already in motion, and the market will ultimately flip to one primarily powered by renewables. Business leaders – even those without substantial climate or sustainability strategies – must be ready to adapt to this new paradigm. Here, we’ve profiled an organization that has taken steps forward in reducing its GHG emissions and increasing its renewable energy capacity through solar power.
Who:
LEGO Group, a Denmark-based multinational toy manufacturer with £9.5 billion in revenue (as of FY 2023) and over 25,000 employees.
What particular challenges do they face?
While LEGO Group’s goal date for achieving net zero GHG emissions is 2050, it is rapidly approaching the end date for its interim target: reducing GHG emissions by 37% by 2032. According to the firm’s 2023 Sustainability Report, its overall emissions increased between 2021 and 2023, suggesting that it might have some way to go to achieve its 2032 target. Renewable energy will play a significant role in this – but external procurement presents a host of challenges, from a lack of control and oversight for difficulty tracking and verifying.
What did they do?
The LEGO Group has increased its internal global solar capacity by 61%, accounting for 22MWp, since 2022. It has also announced that, though developments at its production sites, it plans to increase capacity by a further 72% – adding an extra 37.97MWp – by 2025.
How did they do it?
Between 2022 and 2025, the LEGO Group boosted solar energy through major developments across two key locations. It more than doubled capacity at its factory in Kladno, Czech Republic from 1MWp to 2.5MWp. The new solar panels, installed on recently constructed buildings and previously unused parts of the rooftop, are projected to reduce the factory’s total annual electricity consumption by 9%. At LEGO’s headquarters in Billund, Denmark, the organization increased capacity by 400% by developing an off-site solar park.
Looking forwards, LEGO Group is focusing on solar energy goals at three key sites:
- Tripling capacity at its factory in Nyíregyháza, Hungary by the end of 2025. LEGO has already begun installation work across both ground and rooftop mounted solar parks to achieve this.
- Generating over 7MWp in solar power at its new factory in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam, which is scheduled to open in 2025. LEGO has installed over 12,000 solar panels on factory building rooftops at what is billed to be its first carbon neutral factory.
- A new 80MWp solar park near its Billund headquarters, due to be completed in 2028. When it reaches expected capacity levels, LEGO Group aims to use this facility to cover total energy consumption across all of its sites in Billund.
Where you can find out more:
To read more about the initiative, see LEGO Group’s announcement. To find out more about LEGO’s previous sustainability initiatives, read How They Do It: LEGO Group Launches Supplier Sustainability Programme To Reduce Scope 3 Emissions.
