Danish toy company Lego has just opened a $1 billion (€ 0.906 billion) factory in Vietnam, promising to produce toys by using clean energy without emitting global warming gases.

The plant is located in the Pingyang Industrial Park near the city. The Ho Chi Minh City plant is the first in Vietnam to operate entirely on clean energy, a target that will be achieved by early 2026.

This is Lego's sixth factory in the world and the second in Asia, using high-tech equipment to produce colorful Lego bricks for the fast-growing Southeast Asian market.

"I just want to make sure that the planet the kids grow up inheriting is a vibrant, well-functioning planet," Lego CEO Niels Christiansen told The Associated Press."

the Lego factory runs entirely on clean energy

the plant plays a key role in Lego's plan to end greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Its goal is to reduce emissions by 37% by 2032.

The LEGO Group has invested more than $1.2 billion (about 1.09 billion euros) to find more sustainable materials to replace petroleum-based plastics-the materials currently used to make Lego bricks. However, not all efforts have been successful.

Vietnam aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and wants the plant, which has 12,400 solar panels and storage systems, to be a model for sustainable manufacturing.

The Lego factory uses robots to produce the blocks with a precision up to a tenth of a hair, which are then packaged. The automated production line will be operated by thousands of skilled workers, most of whom have been trained at Lego's China factory.

Industrial output accounts for 1/5 of Vietnam's GDP and consumes half of the country's energy. Plans to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2040 are also underway.

Environmental Factory Roadmap

the Lego factory is the size of 62 football fields and is considered a "blueprint" for a large, energy-intensive but sustainably profitable factory ". Mimi Vu, co-founder of Ho Chi Minh City consultancy Raise Partners, said: "Sometimes it takes a big company like Lego to be the first to prove that it can do this and still make a profit." Ho Chi Minh commented.

The plant will also take advantage of the new Direct Power Purchase Agreement (DPPA), introduced in 2024, which allows foreign companies to buy clean electricity directly from solar and wind producers.

Electricity will be stored in an energy center next to the factory, ensuring continuous power supply even in the absence of sunlight. "This will cover most of the plant's energy needs," Mr Christiansen said.

The remaining 10-20% of energy will be provided through agreements with other clean energy producers.

"Lego and Vietnam share a common green vision. Both want to contribute to climate protection. This is proof that it is possible," said Mikkelsen Jesper Hassellund, senior vice president of Lego Asia."

afforestation, tariff avoidance

lego will also set up a distribution center in Dong Nai province to serve the Australian market and other Asian countries. Christiansen said that locating the factory near the consumer market would help Lego avoid the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariff policy.

Christiansen stressed that all five of the plant's buildings meet high energy efficiency standards. Lego planted 50,000 trees, twice the number of trees cut down when the factory was built. This is also Lego's first factory to use paper bags instead of disposable plastic bags for product packaging.

Lego is still working on ways to produce blocks using more environmentally friendly materials. Christiansen said that 1/3 of the materials currently used to make Lego bricks come from recycled and renewable resources, although their cost is still higher than traditional plastics from fossil fuels.

Christiansen concludes: "It's not cheap, but if we stick to it, we will help build a more environmentally friendly plastics supply chain."