Danish toymaker Lego inaugurates its first carbon-neutral facility in southern Vietnam

Denmark's Lego opened its $1.3 billion factory in Binh Duong province on Wednesday, its sixth plant and first carbon-neutral facility globally.

This is the toy giant’s second largest plant in Asia. In March, general manager Jesper Hassellund Mikkelsen said that the deployment of the Binh Duong facility is the fastest among Lego factories.

Located in VSIP III Industrial Park which was developed by Singapore's Sembcorp and Vietnam's Becamex, the factory will have an initial capacity of 30,000 tons of products per year and employ 4,000 people.

Lego kicked off factory construction in November 2022. The 44-hectare state-of-the-art factory will support the toymaker’s ambition to achieve a 37% cut in absolute global carbon emissions by 2032, including the installation of 12,400 rooftop solar cells totaling 7.34 MWp.

Binh Duong is a manufacturing hub in southern Vietnam. The Lego factory is expected to be a new driving force of the province's economic transformation from traditional industries to high-tech, green and clean industries.

Attending the inauguration ceremony were former Politburo member and former President Nguyen Minh Triet, Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh, and senior ministerial and provincial officials.

Speaking at the event, Deputy PM Chinh said that Lego is not only a globally famous toy brand, but also a symbol of creativity, innovation and sustainable development.

"The Lego factory in Vietnam will not only be a leading regional manufacturing center, but also a source of creativity and education. We hope that Lego will continue to expand its green supply chain, apply 4.0 technology, cooperate with Vietnamese partners to develop localized products, and implement social responsibility programs such as environmental protection and education for disadvantaged children."

Chinh emphasized that the project has become a symbol of sustainable cooperation between Vietnam and Denmark.

"From the framework of the Strategic Partnership in climate change, environment, energy and growth (2011), the Comprehensive Partnership (2013), and most recently the Green Strategic Partnership (2023), the two countries are aiming to elevate their relationship to a Strategic Partnership," he said.

The Deputy PM noted that he believes from the success of this project, the bilateral relationship will continue to develop deeply and widely, spreading to areas such as renewable energy, digital transformation and circular economy.