LEGO accused of playing down diversity and inclusion in latest sustainability report

A Danish journalist has accused the LEGO Group of playing down terms relating to diversity and inclusion in its latest sustainability report, potentially to step ‘in line with the Trump administration’.

Speaking on the Danish P1 Morgen podcast, journalist Iben Schmidt said that the LEGO Group’s latest sustainability report has scrubbed mention of diversity and inclusion terms that had featured in previous years’ reports. “I discovered that words like LGBTQ, ‘people of colour’, ‘woman’, ‘diversity’ had completely disappeared in their sustainability report for 2024,” Schmidt said.

“Just a year ago, [the LEGO Group] was not shy about talking about their work with diversity and showing that they were very inclusive. I have spoken to a number of experts in the field, and they find it difficult to see it as anything other than trying to be in line with the new course from the Trump administration.”

Donald Trump’s government has denounced diversity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the US, and in January reversed Joe Biden’s boost to DEI programmes with an executive order titled: “Ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.” This order states that all federal government DEI programmes will be folded within 60 days.

The US embassy has reportedly sent a letter to corporations in Europe demanding adherence to the executive order, stating that it also applies to government service providers and suppliers based in other countries. TV 2 says this letter – which requests companies to sign a declaration that they do not have any DEI programmes – has been sent to Danish businesses, but it’s not clear whether that includes the LEGO Group specifically.

The LEGO Group’s sustainability reports are publicly available at LEGO.com, and combing through them does corroborate Schmidt’s claims. ‘People of colour’, ‘woman’, ‘LGBTQ’ and ‘diversity’ are indeed completely absent from the 2024 sustainability report, while the 2023 sustainability report mentions diversity and inclusion in three different places – including the opening letter from CEO Niels B. Christiansen.

The 2024 sustainability report does discuss gender breakdown at director level, and outlines a target split for 2025 of 57% male/43% female (building on 2024 levels of 57.9% male/41.9% female). But it also makes a point of saying ‘appointments are made on merit’, echoing language used by the US government, which is not present in the 2022 and 2023 sustainability reports. All mention of ‘targeted D&I initiatives’ from the 2023 report is also missing from the 2024 statement.

“Every year we review and adapt our reporting to ensure that it complies with the latest requirements and reflects our plans and results,” the LEGO Group shared in a statement. “We also regularly update our policies. We believe that the different backgrounds, perspectives, skills and experiences of our colleagues are our strength and contribute to our ambition to reach children around the world with LEGO play experiences.

“We want to attract, retain and develop the best talent and have always worked to provide equal opportunities for all our colleagues. We are fully committed to our diversity and inclusion initiatives and to creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone.”

The LEGO Group’s diversity and inclusion page at LEGO.com is still live, and touches on initiatives surrounding employee inclusion, underrepresented groups and gender representation.

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