Polytechnic University of the Philippines

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Department of Human Resource Management

BEST PRACTICES

THE LEGO GROUP

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

DELA TORRE, ERIC JR B. JR.

BSBA FM 2-4

MAY 21, 2021

Overview of the Company

Lego is a Danish toy production company based in Billund. It is best known

for the manufacture of Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic
bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks around the world,
each known as Legoland, and operates numerous retail stores.
Legoland has numerous branches that can be found in Billund, California,
Florida, Malaysia, Dubai, Windsor, Japan, and Germany.

Lego Group Mission Statement

'Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow' Our ultimate purpose is to inspire and
develop children to think creatively, reason systematically and release their potential to
shape their own future - experiencing the endless human possibility.

Lego Group Vision Statement

What started as a kind gesture between friends living just outside Boston, US, is today
being rolled out as a global pilot by the LEGO Group using AI technology the initiative
aims to make the LEGO play experience more accessible for those with vision
impairment.

Lego Group Values

 Imagination
 Creativity
 Fun
 Learning
 Caring
 Quality

Historical Background of LEGO GROUP

The Lego Group began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (born 7 April
1891), a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In
1934, his company came to be called “Lego”, from the Danish phrase leg godt, which
means “play well”. It expanded to producing plastic toys in 1947.In 1949 Lego began
producing, among other new products, an early version of the now famous interlocking
bricks, calling them “Automatic Binding Bricks”. These bricks were based in part on
the Kiddicraft Self-Locking Bricks, which were patented in the United Kingdom in
1939 and then there released in 1947. Lego modified the design of the Kiddicraft brick
after examining a sample given to it by the British supplier of an injection-
molding machine that the company had purchased. The bricks, originally manufactured
from cellulose acetate, were a development of traditional stackable wooden blocks that
locked together by means of several round studs on top and a hollow rectangular
bottom. The blocks snapped together, but not so tightly that they required extraordinary
effort to be separated.

The Lego Group’s motto is det bedste er ikke for godt which means roughly “only
the best is the best” (more literally “the best is never too good”). This motto was created
by Ole Kirk to encourage his employees never to skimp on quality, a value he believed
in strongly.The motto is still used within the company today. By 1951 plastic toys
accounted for half of the Lego Company’s output, although Danish trade
magazine Legetøjs-Tidende (“Toy-Times”), visiting the Lego factory in Billund in the
early 1950s, felt that plastic would never be able to replace traditional wooden toys.
Although a common sentiment, Lego toys seem to have become a significant exception
to the dislike of plastic in children’s toys, due in part to the high standards set by Ole
Kirk.
 By 1954, Christiansen’s son, Godtfred, had become the junior managing director
of the Lego Group. It was his conversation with an overseas buyer that led to the idea of
a toy system. Godtfred saw the immense potential in Lego bricks to become a system
for creative play, but the bricks still had some problems from a technical standpoint:
their locking ability was limited and they were not very versatile. In 1958, the modern
brick design was developed, and it took another five years to find the right material for it,
ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) polymer. The modern Lego brick was patented on
28 January 1958.
The Lego Group’s Duplo product line, introduced in 1969, is a range of simple
blocks which measure twice the width, height and depth of standard Lego blocks, and
are aimed at younger children.
In 1978, Lego produced the first minifigures, which have since become a staple
in most sets. New elements are often released along with new sets. There are also
Lego sets designed to appeal to young girls such as the Belville and Clikits lines which
consist of small interlocking parts that are meant to encourage creativity and arts and
crafts, much like regular Lego bricks. Belville and Clikit pieces can interlock with regular
Lego bricks as decorative elements.
Lego Fabuland ran from 1979 to 1989. The more advanced Lego Technic was
launched in 1977. Lego Primo is a line of blocks by the Lego Group for very young
children that ran between 2004 and 2006. In 1995 Lego Baby was launched for babies.
In May 2011, Space Shuttle Endeavour mission STS-134 brought 13 Lego kits to the
International Space Station, where astronauts will build models and see how they react
in microgravity, as part of the Lego Bricks in Space program. The results will be shared
with schools as part of an educational project.
In May 2013, the largest model ever created was displayed in New York, made of over
5 million bricks; a 1:1 scale model of an X-Wing.Other records are a 112-foot tower and
a 4km railway.”
Time Context

The Lego Group has had many CSR since from the start. The Corporate Social
Responsibilities listed are from 2014 up until the present.

Current Situation

According to the website www.forbes.com, in 2017, Lego tops this year’s roster

of top CSR companies. This group have jumped from its fifth place showing last year.

LEGO has set commitments and values and responds to them every day,
keeping in mind that there is always room for improvement. This is why they set
sustainability goals, but also increasing goals such as actions with children or
environmental impacts to always improve. Thus, LEGO remains a leader company on
the market of the game of creativity but also leader with regard to the corporate social
responsibility of the company

In 2019, The LEGO Group achieved its ambition to balance 100% of its energy

use with energy from renewable sources—3 years ahead of time. Only one month after
achieving this remarkable milestone, LEGO extended a partnership with WWF
to reduce the global Co2 footprint of its suppliers by 10,000 tons per year towards 2020.
In December 2020, they were the first large toy company to announce a Science Based
Target, which commits us to reduce our absolute carbon emissions by 37% by 2032.

Today over 3,000 Play Agents work with children in communities around the
globe to lead them in the kind of fun, creative play that develops young minds.

Reputation Institute in United States ranked them 1 st for having the best reputation when
it comes to company’s CSR, beating companies like Microsoft and Google.
LEGO GROUP’s CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

At the LEGO Group, they are playing our part in building a sustainable future and
creating a better, brighter world for our children to inherit.

CSR about Children

Local Community Engagement

With the help of passionate LEGO employees we aim to leverage the

transformational power of learning through play to inspire and develop children. Their
local community engagement program currently operates in 26 countries, and we are
working hard to expand it even further. The program relies on our employees in each
country volunteering to help create projects to inspire children. These projects meet
local needs, provide opportunities to local children, and leverage the skills and interests
of local employees to have the greatest impact on the lives of children.

RE:CODE

Using LEGO Education products, RE:CODE events host hundreds of children

who participate in activities that deepen learning on real-world themes while helping to
boost 21st-century skills. The events are fun learning environments that steer children
toward STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) subjects while
inventing, creating and coding robotic models that solve real issues, mostly around
sustainability.

Some of the themes they have are about Recycling, Air Pollution, Water
Pollution, and Wildlife Conservation.

Build the Change

Build the Change is a powerful way for children to express their hopes and
dreams for the future with LEGO® bricks and other creative materials, plus their own
imagination.
They have a mission to give children a voice and use their ideas and visions to inspire
leaders around the world.

Supporting Children Affected by Crises

To help the millions of vulnerable children affected by crises, they launched the
Emergency Relief Response Policy along with the LEGO Foundation to provide support
for families in armed conflict and natural disaster zones. The Lego foundation is
committed to promote learning through play for children affected by crisis to address a
pressing challenge of our time and change the way the world thinks about play and
learning through play and its importance for young children in crisis setting.

CSR about Environment

Zero Waste

Their Zero Waste to Landfill target ambition for 2025 will ensure that no waste
from LEGO facilities reaches any landfill site. Three words are behind the improvement
of Lego waste management: reduce, reuse and recycle. So, the work of improvement is
for LEGO to reduce waste until it reaches the zero-waste stage. To reuse the materials
as well as the faulty parts so as not to waste them, and also to recycle the materials for
which this process is possible (paper, sheet, pencil, etc.). The goal of the company is to
achieve a 93% recycling percentage.

Sustainable Material

Their ambition is to make LEGO bricks from sustainable sources by 2030 without
compromising quality or safety. This a bold ambition as it requires creating entirely new
materials. For the LEGO Group, a sustainable material must be responsibly produced,
using renewable or recycled resources, generating little or no waste, use sustainable
chemistry and be fully recyclable at the end of its life, while meeting our high standards
for safety, quality and durability. We are joining forces with suppliers, research
institutions and other industries to develop these new materials for LEGO bricks of the
future

In 2018, they started making range of sustainable element from sugarcane to

create Polyethylene, a soft, durable, and flexible plastic. As of now, more than 80 Lego
elements are made from sustainable source Polyethylene.

Sustainable Packaging

It’s their aim that by 2025 all LEGO packaging will be made from renewable or
recycled materials, will be made as efficiently as possible, and will be easy for
consumers to recycle. They will begin to test paper bags in our boxes which mean
goodbye single use plastic and hello recycling bin! First, we will trial recyclable paper
bags that are made from Forest Stewardship Council certified paper. They will be
designed to help children understand the importance of recycling and ensure they have
the best possible play experience. Our new bags will be phased in over a four-year
period from 2021.

In 2017, they started using recyclable paper-pulp trays in advent calendars,

saving up to 1 million plastic trays from going to landfill.

In 2018, they began using recycled plastic in packaging ‘blisters’ – the

transparent plastic windows which allow you to have a sneak peek into the boxes –
although this was a temporary measure as we will eventually phase out blisters.

In 2019, LEGO boxes in the US and Canada featured the How2Recycle label.
This promotes packaging recycling and provides US and Canadian consumers with
clear guidance to responsibly recycle or dispose of their LEGO packaging. We are
continuing to work on a global approach to reach all LEGO consumers.

Today, approximately 75% of cardboard used to make LEGO boxes comes from
recycled material. In addition, all the paper and cardboard used in our products and
product packaging is recyclable, sustainably sourced and certified by the Forest
Stewardship Council.
Reduction of Emissions

As part of their effort to tackle climate change, their energy consumption is 100%
balanced by renewable energy. They are constantly investing their energy efficiency
and installing renewable energy inside their stores, offices, and factories.

They have changed the entire lighting system at our factory in Mexico, fitting more
than 19,000 high-efficient LED lightbulbs which cover the whole production floor. This
saves more than 1,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

They installed a roof-based renewable energy system including more than 3,500
solar panels at our 48,000-meter squared factory In Kladno, Czech Republic. These
panels cover six production halls and mean we can reduce our CO2 emissions by more
than 500 tonnes annually.

They installed an innovative new cooling system at our Danish factory that pulls in
outside ambient air and uses it to cool the production process of moulding LEGO bricks.
This system minimizes the need for a refrigerant-based system and provides a significant
energy reduction of more than 538,000 kWh, the equivalent of an annual CO2 emission
reduction of 111 tonnes.

Causes of Success

1. They are committed to their Goals.

The goal of the company is to have a better world for the children to have in
the future. Most of their CSRs are related to their goal.
2. Volunteered Employees.
Their CSR wouldn’t be successful if not for their employees. The
employees are the ones who help the children and their goals to be
achieved.
3. Their CSR is easy to sustain.

Their CSR can be easily maintained without having to work too much to
keep it going, especially with their CSR to the environment.
Reasons of Success

1. They planned well.

Every step they take is already planned. They made a plan that will make
sure that they will achieve their goals.

2. They invested a large amount of money.

The company has invested $150 million in 2015 and $400 million in 2020
just to have their CSR keep going.

3. They partnered with different organization.

In 2013, they partnered with wildlife fund with their CSR to reduce the
emission of CO2. They also partnered with different organization such as
United Nation Global Compact and Unicef.

Best Practices that were learned

1. Find the right match/partnership.

Having the right partners to achieve your goal should be part of the plan
because they are the ones who will help your company to achieve it.

2. Stay committed to your goals.

It is easy to make your CSR succeed if it what your company stands to.

3. Stay concerned with the environment.

Being concerned with the environment will help everyone including your
company to stay standing in the future. By thinking about the environment,
you are also thinking about the future.
References

http://efser.eu/environmental-responsibility/lego-only-the-best-is-good-enough/

https://www.comparably.com/companies/lego-group/mission

https://www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/top-corporate-social-responsibility-trends-in-2020/

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/the-lego-group-history/#:~:text=The%20name
%20'LEGO'%20is%20an,a%20grandchild%20of%20the%20founder.

https://www.lego.com/en-us/lego-history/lego-trains-dee583479c4542c382e1ed551aa161f7

https://www.goodreturns.org/blog/5-creative-csr-initiatives

https://blog.submittable.com/great-csr/

https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-rctom/submission/lego-building-a-more-sustainable-future-brick-by-
brick/

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/sustainability/environment

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/sustainability/children

https://www.imaginationmatters.org/index.php/2018/04/17/partnering-successful-play-partnerships/

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news/2020/september/sustainability/

https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-rctom/submission/lego-building-a-more-sustainable-future-brick-by-
brick/