The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 in Denmark by carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen. For the first several years of the company, they specialized in wooden toys.

Kristiansen believed in making high-quality products.  He adopted as the company motto, “Only the best is good enough.”

It wasn't until 1946 that The LEGO Group bought a plastic-injection moulding machine for making toys. They were the first company in Denmark to do so, although they still made some wooden toys.

In 1949, LEGO used that plastic-injection machine to finally introduce the product they are known for today. Called Automatic Building Bricks, they were sold exclusively in Denmark.

The bricks simply became known as LEGOs after a while, and their popularity grew. But throughout their history, LEGOs have always been made of plastic.

However, that may change soon. LEGO has now established LEGO Sustainable Materials Centre. It's goal? To find a sustainable material to replace plastic in LEGO products.

LEGO is investing 1 billion Danish Krone to the initiative, or roughly 150 million U.S. dollars. It is also creating jobs, with over 100 employees being initially recruited for the project.

The plan is for LEGO to find a sustainable replacement for plastic by 2030. The material would be used to make LEGOs as well as packaging material.

LEGO Group CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp is excited about the project. “We have already taken important steps to reduce our carbon footprint and leave a positive impact on the planet by reducing the packaging size, by introducing FSC certified packaging and through our investment in an offshore wind farm” he said. “Now we are accelerating our focus on materials.”

LEGO Group owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen agreed. “Our mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow,” he said. “The investment announced is a testament to our continued ambition to leave a positive impact on the planet, which future generations will inherit.”

In 2014, over 60 billion LEGO elements were manufactured. If all those pieces were instead made with sustainable material, it would make a huge difference to the planet.

What is a sustainable material? According to their website, “The LEGO Group believes a new sustainable material must have an ever-lighter footprint than the material it replaces across key environmental and social impact areas such as fossil resource use, human rights and climate change.”

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen thinks his grandfather, the founder of the company, would be proud. “It is certainly in line with the mission of the LEGO Group and in line with the motto of my grandfather and founder of the LEGO Group, Ole Kirk Kristiansen: 'Only the best is good enough.'”