In the same first six months of the year that have seen the LEGO Group grow its revenue to DKK 31bn (€4.1bn), so too has the Danish toymaker made significant advances in its sustainability ambitions, including an increased use in plastics derived from renewable and recycled sources.
Detailed in the LEGO Group’s 2024 first half earning released this morning, the company has not only delivered double-digit growth on the top- and bottom-line – significantly outpacing the rest of the global toy industry – but has “made significant progress on increasing the sustainable materials used in our products.”
In the first six months, the toy maker’s revenue increased by 13% to DKK 31bn compared to DKK 27.4bn in the first half of 2023. Consumer sales also grew 14% while operating profit grew 26% versus last year to a record DKK 8.1bn.
It’s been a period in which the LEGO Group has launched now fewer than 300 new sets boasting a mix of homegrown and licensed themes including LEGO Icons, LEGO City, and LEGO Technic as well as LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Harry Potter.
At the same time, the company has managed to advance on its sustainability ambitions with a notable increase in the amount of resin purchased from sustainable sources certified under the mass balance principle. In fact, in the first half of 2024, 30% of all resin purchased by LEGO was certified mass balance, translating to an estimated average of 22% material from renewable and recycled sources.
This marks a significant increase from 2023 when, for the full year, 18% was certified mass balance, equating just 12% sustainable sources.
Over the coming years, the company aims to purchase more than half its raw materials from sustainable sources via the mass balance principle, reducing its use of virgin fossil materials.
Within this same first six months, the LEGO Group has intensified its focus on greenhouse gas emissions reduction, having launched its new Supplier Sustainability Programme requiring suppliers to set targets to reduce emissions by 2026 and further by 2028, and an annual carbon emissions reduction KPI linked to employee bonuses.
Additionally, the company expanded its LEGO brick takeback programme, LEGO Replay to the UK and continued to pilot models in the USA and Europe.
Niels B Christiansen, the LEGO Group’s ceo, said: “We are very pleased with our strong performance in the first half. We delivered double-digit growth on the top- and bottom-line and made significant progress on increasing the amount of sustainable materials used in our products.
“Our portfolio continue to be relevant for all ages and interests, and this is driving significant demand across markets. We used our solid financial foundation to further increase spending on strategic initiatives which will support growth now and in the future to enable us to bring learning through play to even more children.”
