LEGO’s Instructions for a Better World

Ahead of the crucial COP26 climate talks that start in Glasgow, Scotland this Sunday, LEGO are getting involved to urge world leaders to take note of children’s concerns on the climate crisis. 

In case you're wondering, they are not promoting any physical model – rather, they have mocked up a LEGO instruction booklet that offers “building instructions for a better world”. Essentially, it distils children’s views into a to-do list that will be handed out to delegates at COP26:

This special-edition handbook offers just 10 steps representing the “10 requests” to policymakers and which become LEGO instructions for a better world:

• Reduce pollution and waste 
• Increase the focus on protecting nature 
• Change laws and regulations around sustainability 
• Stop ignoring the problem: do more 
• Educate people of all ages 
• Introduce programs to reduce emissions
• Cooperate internationally to share knowledge and solutions
• Leaders, change your own behaviour and set examples
• Invest more in protecting the environment
• Help people and future generations

The above are based on studies conducted with more than 6,000 children aged 8 to 18 from around the world. 

And nearly half of the children told researchers they think about the environment once a week, while one in 10 thinks about it every day. Global heating is their No. 1 concern. 

A LEGO video clip on "Build The Change" intro:

 

Tim Brooks, the vice-president of environmental responsibility at LEGO, said the initiative sought to “give children a voice” at the climate talks. “Children are demanding that they and future generations are front of mind when it comes to creating policy”, he said. 

With companies under pressure to reduce their impact on the planet, LEGO have committed to reducing their absolute carbon emissions by 37% by 2032 (compared with their 2019 baseline). The toymaker has more than 150 people working on sustainability projects and is investing $400 million over three years. 

LEGO, which produce billions of plastic bricks a year, had unveiled their first 4x2 bricks made from recycled plastic in June of this year. The prototypes, made from PET plastic from discarded bottles, are the result of three years of experiments, with the next phase of testing expected to take at least a year. 

Brooks said he received about 1,000 letters a year from children that offered up both praise and criticism. Their feedback had spurred LEGO’s action on single-use plastic, which will be removed from their sets by 2025, as well as the work on recycled bricks. 

The company is showing leadership on the environment, he said, but acknowledged “there is always more to do”.