LEGO Breaks Ground on $1B Carbon-Neutral Factory in Virginia

LEGO has commenced construction on its new $1 billion carbon-neutral factory in Chesterfield County, near Richmond, Virginia. Scheduled for completion in 2025, the 340-acre site, equivalent to 260 American football fields, will help the company further its global growth and bring LEGO play to millions of children in the Americas.

The factory will feature rooftop and ground solar panels, along with an on-site 35-40 MW solar plant, generating enough energy to power around 10,000 American homes. LEGO’s ambition is for the solar plant to meet the site’s total annual energy requirements.

Designed with the company’s sustainability goals in mind, the facility will help reduce LEGO’s absolute global carbon emissions by 37% by 2032. The factory will utilize energy-efficient production equipment, and its buildings and manufacturing processes will be designed to minimize energy consumption.

LEGO’s Chief Operations Officer, Carsten Rasmussen, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration with partners in Virginia and the company’s ambitious plans to build the solar plant. He added that the new site would enable LEGO to inspire millions of children across the Americas through play.

To celebrate the groundbreaking, LEGO will donate over $1 million to charitable organizations supporting local children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the greater Richmond area, in addition to the $300,000 provided for the Children’s Museum of Richmond and the Science Museum of Virginia in 2022.

The factory’s landscape design will also incorporate input from 250 children from the greater Richmond area, who shared their ideas for making the site welcoming to animals, plants, and visitors using LEGO bricks.

The factory investment in Virginia is part of LEGO’s strategy to locate factories close to major markets, allowing the company to respond to local demand, shorten supply chains, and reduce its environmental impact. LEGO is also investing in building capacity across its network, with a new site opening in Vietnam by 2024 and expansions in existing factories in Mexico, Hungary, and China.

Upon completion, the main factory will employ 1,760 skilled workers, while a temporary packing facility, due to open in the first half of 2024, is currently recruiting up to 500 people. LEGO aims to provide a safe, diverse, and inclusive workplace, offering features such as wellbeing areas, parents’ facilities, and multi-faith rooms, along with inclusive benefits like extended paid parental leave.