Do we like Lego?
Danish toymaker best known for interlocking plastic bricks; based in Billund, Denmark.
Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back them. A family-owned firm with a charitable co-owner and real money going into greener plastic. The oil-based plastic problem and the 2023 recycled-bottle U-turn stop it scoring higher.
Lego is a family business from Billund, Denmark. Today it's owned 75% by KIRKBI, the Kirk Kristiansen family's holding company, and 25% by the LEGO Foundation, a charity. Niels B. Christiansen has been CEO since October 2017. Because it's private, there's no pressure from stock-market shareholders.
Business is booming. In the first half of 2026, revenue rose 21% to a record DKK 41.9bn and net profit rose 32%. Lego also bought 29 Lego and Legoland Discovery Centres from Merlin Entertainments. Profit isn't a good or bad deed, but it pays for the green spending below.
The big problem is plastic. Axios reported that about 80% of Lego's pieces contain ABS, a crude-oil plastic. In 2023 Lego scrapped its recycled-bottle brick plan after its CEO told the Financial Times it would have meant higher emissions. Lego said it was still committed to sustainable materials by 2032.
Since then, progress is real but debated. ESG Today reports that 52% of the materials Lego bought for bricks in 2025 were renewable or recycled, up from 33%. Most of that comes via 'mass balance' accounting, which Trellis says anti-plastics groups call a 'sleight of hand'. A Lux Research analyst said Lego is progressive among toymakers.
On the good side, the LEGO Foundation committed $97m in May 2026 to an International Rescue Committee programme, aimed at reaching 5 million children affected by conflict. Lego also does the usual big-brand legal scraps over copying. We'd back them with an 8: strong ownership and charity, with the oil-plastic question still unresolved.