Danish construction toy company The LEGO Group announced on Tuesday a 19 million Danish Krone ($2.8 million) commitment to four carbon removal projects to mitigate climate change.
According to a statement, the investment in partnership with Climate Impact Partners and ClimeFi will fund initiatives focused on biochar, enhanced rock weathering and reforestation, generating carbon removal credits between 2024 and 2026.
The commitment expands LEGO’s sustainability portfolio, which already includes a collaboration with Climeworks’ direct air capture and storage technology.
The statement added that the company aims to deepen its understanding of emerging carbon removal strategies and their effectiveness beyond its supply chain.
Annette Stube, chief sustainability officer at The LEGO Group, emphasized the broader environmental impact of such initiatives.
“We are proud to support these climate initiatives, which we believe will have a positive impact on the wider environmental ecosystem,” said Annette Stube, chief sustainability officer at The LEGO Group, in the statement.
“Innovative, high-quality carbon removal projects and emerging technologies have the potential to play an important role in supporting a more sustainable future, while reforestation has the potential to support improved biodiversity,” Stube added.
Adding to LEGO’s contribution, KIRKBI A/S, the family-owned holding and investment company behind the LEGO brand, has committed an additional DKK 5 million to the same projects.
Biochar and Enhanced Rock Weathering
In collaboration with ClimeFi, LEGO is backing two biochar initiatives and an enhanced rock weathering project.
Biochar production involves converting waste biomass into a stable, carbon-rich material, effectively sequestering carbon while improving soil quality.
Enhanced rock weathering, another method supported by the company, accelerates the natural process of rock decomposition by spreading rock powder across agricultural fields, capturing atmospheric carbon in the process.
“The projects were carefully chosen based on ClimeFi’s strict quality standards and underwent thorough technical review,” said Paolo Piffaretti, co-founder and CEO of ClimeFi.
Piffaretti added: “The LEGO Group’s early adoption of these high-quality carbon removal solutions will help catalyze the growth of the Carbon Dioxide Removal industry and help achieve our shared climate goals.”
Reforestation in the Lower Mississippi
LEGO has partnered with Climate Impact Partners to support large-scale reforestation in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley in the United States as part of its nature-based solutions.
By purchasing carbon credits, the company is contributing to efforts to restore more than 400,000 hectares (1 million acres) of forest in an area that has experienced severe deforestation.
Managed by the GreenTrees platform, the initiative is designed to remove carbon from the atmosphere, enhance biodiversity, bolster flood protection against hurricanes, and improve water quality in the Mississippi River by reducing nutrient runoff.
Sheri Hickok, CEO of Climate Impact Partners, underscored the importance of private sector involvement in addressing climate change. “This is a leading example of how the private sector can drive real impact – taking steps to reduce value chain emissions and simultaneously channeling finance to solutions, like reforestation, that deliver beyond value chain impact,” she said.
The LEGO Group remains committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while seeking external solutions to contribute to the broader global transition to net zero. By investing in carbon removal projects, the company reinforces its sustainability mission and its pledge to protect the planet for future generations.
