Lego opens a toy factory in Vietnam it plans to run entirely on clean energy

BINH DUONG, Vietnam (AP) — Lego opened a $1 billion factory in Vietnam on Wednesday that it says will make toys without adding planet-warming gas to the atmosphere by relying entirely on clean energy.

The factory in the industrial area of Binh Duong, close to Ho Chi Minh City, is the first in Vietnam that aims to run entirely on clean energy. Lego says it will do that by early 2026.

It's the Danish company's sixth worldwide and its second in Asia. It will use high-tech equipment to produce colorful Lego bricks for Southeast Asia’s growing markets.

“We just want to make sure that the planet that the children inherit when they grow up needs to be a planet that is still there. That is functional,” Lego CEO Niels Christiansen told The Associated Press.

The factory is an important factor in Lego's quest to stop adding greenhouse gases by 2050. It has a shorter-term target of reducing emissions by 37% by 2032. The privately held group makes its bricks out of oil-based plastic and says it has invested more than $1.2 billion in a search for more sustainable alternatives. But those efforts have not always been successful.

Fast-industrializing Vietnam also aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, so it needs more of its factories to use clean energy. The country hopes the plant’s 12,400 solar panels and energy storage system will help set a precedent for more sustainable manufacturing.

Locating the Lego factories in regions they supply has also helped insulate them from the tariffs ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Christiansen said. “Right now, I am probably more observant of what does this mean to growth in the world? Do we see consumer sentiment changing in parts of the world or not, and what would that potentially mean?” he said.

The blocks are made from differently colored plastic grains that are melted at high temperatures and then fed into metal molds. The highly automated factory uses robots for making the bricks to a tenth of a hair's width precision and then packaging them. It eventually will employ thousands of mostly skilled workers to operate these machines. Some of them have already begun work after being trained in in Lego's factory in eastern China.

Manufacturing makes up a fifth of Vietnam's GDP and consumes half the energy it uses. There are plans to phase out its coal power plants by 2040.

The Lego factory, which spans 62 soccer fields, sets the “blueprint” for making large, power-guzzling factories sustainable while remaining profitable, said Mimi Vu, a founder of the consultancy Raise Partners in Ho Chi Minh City. “Sometimes it takes a big company, like Lego, to take those risks. To show that we can do it … And we can be profitable,” she said.

The factory will benefit from a new 2024 rule known as a direct power purchase agreement or DPPA, which allows big foreign companies to buy clean energy directly from solar and wind power producers and to meet their clean energy requirements.

The factory will be linked to an adjacent energy center where electricity can be stored in large batteries.

“So even if the sun is only shining during the day, we store the energy and can use it all over. That will cover by far the majority of the consumption of the factory,” added Christiansen,

The remaining 10%-20% of the factory's energy needs will be met through agreements with other clean energy producers.

“Lego and Vietnam, we are having the same aspirations. We both want to be green, to play our part in the climate. And I think this with the solar and battery and DPPA, it is showcasing that it can be done,” Jesper Hassellund Mikkelsen, Senior Vice President Asia Operations at the LEGO Group told The AP.

The company will also open a distribution center in Vietnam's southern Dong Nai province to help serve markets in Australia and other Asian countries where it sees an opportunity for growth.

The five buildings in the factory meet high energy efficiency standards. Lego also has planted 50,000 trees – twice the number of the trees it cut to clear land for the factory. It's the first Lego factory to replace single-use plastic bags with paper bags for packaging.

Lego's founder, Ole Kirk Kristiansen, started the company as a wooden toy maker before patenting the iconic plastic bricks in 1958. It is still is seeking a way to make its plastic bricks more environmentally friendly.

Christiansen said Lego bricks last decades and could be reused, though the ultimately ambition is to make them out of more renewable materials. He said that a third of the materials used in Lego bricks made last year were from renewable and recycled sources. But that's more expensive than plastic made out of fossil fuels.

“It’s not inexpensive at this point in time, but we believe if we ... lean into that, we help create a supply chain for the type of plastic materials that are not based on fossil fuel,” he said.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Workers scrub the floor at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A worker operates packing machines at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Lego CEO Niels Christiansen speaks during an interview at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Workers scrub the floor at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A worker walks past Lego characters in Vietnamese traditional lion dance costumes displayed at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A worker operates a moulding machine at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Workers leave work at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Lego bricks are moved on conveyor belt at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Lego pieces are moved in packing machine at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

This image released by The LEGO Group, shows a Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam. (The LEGO Group via AP)

Lego bricks are held in a worker's hands for checking at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A worker operates packing machines at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Workers sort out Lego bricks at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A worker operates packing machines at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Lego CEO Niels Christiansen poses for a photo at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Lego characters in Vietnamese traditional costumes are displayed at Lego factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam Wednesday, April, 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The NBA banned two people for life from its arenas on Thursday, after one of them was arrested shortly after running onto the court during Game 1 of the NBA Finals and appearing to take a selfie next to San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama.

A second fan was banned for his involvement in Wednesday night's incident, which occurred midway through the fourth quarter of the game between the Spurs and New York Knicks. The NBA did not disclose specifics of that person's involvement.

“The individual who entered the court area during Game 1 of The Finals was arrested and will be banned for life from all NBA arenas," an NBA spokesman said in a news release. "A second individual will also receive a lifetime ban for his role in the incident.”

The person who was arrested after running onto the court is a juvenile, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because that detail — first reported by the San Antonio Express-News — was not revealed publicly.

That fan appeared to enter the court from the sideline opposite the team benches, starting from behind the play and running into San Antonio's offensive end. The person was quickly pulled from the court by two security guards and it did not appear the person made any physical contact with Wembanyama or any New York players.

Wembanyama did not appear bothered by the incident, either as it was happening or afterward.

“I’ve never been in that situation,” Wembanyama said. “I didn’t know how to act."

He compared the moment to a game in January 2024 when a bat got into the Spurs' arena and flew around the court, stopping a game against Minnesota for a couple of minutes.

Play on Wednesday was stopped for 1 minute and 29 seconds before the game resumed with a jump ball. The fan who entered the play was taken out of the court area through a baseline tunnel.

“I don’t think it was an event at all,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I thought security got him out of there. I think everybody moved on to the next play.”

Another incident involving fan behavior occurred in the final minute, when New York guard Jalen Brunson — who had a game-high 30 points in the Knicks' come-from-behind win — appeared to be upset by something said to him by a patron in a courtside seat.

A second person, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because the NBA has not discussed the matter publicly, said the league is “looking into what happened” with the fan and what was said to Brunson.

Fan behavior and conduct has been a point of emphasis for the NBA in recent years, and the league sent a memo to all 30 clubs at the start of this season saying it wants “consistent and vigilant enforcement of the NBA Fan Code of Conduct … to deter and address fan misconduct at NBA games and events.”

The NBA, in that October memo, told teams that arena staff “must be trained to identify behavior that violates NBA rules and to respond proactively.” The NBA, like many leagues, also has a video detailing a code of conduct for fans played in every arena before each game.

“It is critical that teams and arenas vigorously enforce the Code of Conduct and not tolerate any misconduct that impacts our players, fans, or otherwise disrupts the game,” the league said.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) spins as San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper, left, defends during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) drives against the New York Knicks during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)