Tim Brooks Profile

Tim Brooks is vice president of environmental responsibility at the Lego Group. As the leader of a global team focused on the company's environmental performance, Brooks helped Lego reach a goal of 100% renewable energy in 2017—three years ahead of schedule—with investment in two offshore wind farms.

He also leads the Sustainable Materials Center, a research and development group dedicated to finding and implementing better materials for the company's toys and packaging by 2030. In 2018, Brooks helped the company begin using a plant-based plastic in some Lego bricks, made from sugarcane, for the first time. Brooks, who previously led environmental R&D at Tesco and worked as an environmental policy advisor to the Mayor of London, is now focused on realizing the next major goal: replacing single-use plastic and moving to recycled or sustainably sourced plastic packaging by 2025.

Commitment to sustainable projects

• Plastic free packaging

In 2015 the LEGO Group announced its ambition to use 100% sustainable materials in both its bricks and packaging by 2030. Today the LEGO Group announced that they are aiming for 100% sustainable packaging by 2025.

Currently, the majority of LEGO® packaging, by weight, is cardboard or paper-based which is recyclable, sustainably sourced and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council

Tim Brooks, Vice President Environmental Responsibility at the LEGO Group said:

“To support our company mission, we have a Planet Promise and we have pledged to play our part in protecting the planet for future generations. Using sustainable packaging is an important part of fulfilling that promise. By bringing forward our ambition or sustainable packaging, we are also acknowledging the need to find better packaging solutions sooner. We’ve made good progress in the past three years, and there is still work to do.”

LEGO bricks are designed to be reused and handed down through generations, but not everyone keeps their LEGO boxes and other packaging. As some of the LEGO packaging contains single-use disposable plastics, which today are not sustainable, and in some cases cannot be recycled by consumers, the LEGO Group is actively taking measures to improve its packaging sustainability.

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Brooks’ project is to, by 2025, no LEGO packaging parts have to end up in a landfill. Packaging will be made from renewable or recycled materials and will be easy for consumers to recycle.

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• Removing oil-based plastics from Lego

For 60 years, Lego made its signature building blocks from oil-based plastic. In 2018, the company launched its first pieces made from plant-based plastic, sourced from sugarcane. As one of the leaders of Lego’s larger environmental mission, Tim Brooks suggested focusing on finding a replacement for polyethylene, a flexible material used in certain Lego pieces, such as dragon wings, because plant-based alternatives were readily available.

Coincidentally, the material is used for vegetation shapes like trees and leaves, so the company can now make “plants from plants,” says Brooks.

The Vestas Wind Turbine set now features trees made from the substance, and is sold in stores and online for $199. Eighty additional shapes are currently rolling out across collections. Lego is also working on alternatives to other materials, including the hard plastic used in traditional bricks, and testing them for factors like durability, shine, color, and how bricks stick together. Ultimately, the company plans to eliminate the entire carbon footprint of its sets by 2030.

Lego factories already run on renewable energy, and the company is working on eliminating single-use plastic from all of its packaging. “Having a zero-impact product is very important to us,” Brooks says. “We want to give children this fantastic experience, but not one that jeopardizes their future.”

LEGO bricks are designed to be reused and handed down through generations.

Volunteer experiences

• Board Trustee at Global Action Plan

Board Trustee at Global Action Plan (GAP). GAP is a charity that's working for a green and thriving planet where people enjoy their lives within the Earth's resources with a particular focus on impact, action and engagement of children and young people.

• Board Member Honnold Foundation

Member of the board for The Honnold Foundation which provides grants to organizations advancing solar energy access all over the world. The Honnold Foundation was founded by professional rock climber Alex Honnold in 2012.

Colleagues’ references

Holly Knight | Sustainability and Climate Change expert

“Tim is a highly adaptable and enthusiastic consultant with an exceptional wealth of knowledge in sustainable building design, renewable energy and carbon management. Tim worked hard at Greenstone to educate other staff members on low carbon design and also delivered high quality consultancy work to all of his clients”