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Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a greenhouse gas
    • ex. Factories produce a lot of greenhouse gases, which can cause global warming.
  2. an emission
    • ex. Cars make harmful emissions, like smoke, that can pollute the air.
  3. equipment
    • ex. The gym has new equipment, including walking machines and dumbbells, for workouts.
  4. manufacturing
    • ex. Manufacturing is important in this town because many people work in factories that make cars.
  5. profitable
    • ex. The bakery became profitable after many people started buying its cakes every day.

Article

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Lego opened a $1 billion (more than ¥143 billion) factory in Vietnam in April. The company says this factory will use clean energy and make toys without adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The factory is located in Binh Duong, near Ho Chi Minh City. It is the first Lego factory in Vietnam and the second one in Asia.

Lego CEO Niels Christiansen said that the company’s goal is to protect the planet for future generations. The new factory is part of Lego’s plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 37% by 2032 and stop them completely by 2050. Vietnam’s factory will use high-tech equipment to produce colorful Lego toys for Southeast Asia’s growing markets.

Vietnam’s manufacturing industry is growing fast, and the country wants to have no carbon emissions by the year 2050. The country sees the Lego factory, which has 12,400 solar panels, as a good example of clean and green manufacturing. Mimi Vu, who owns a company in Vietnam, said that big companies like Lego sometimes need to take risks to show that green factories can still be profitable.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Toys

  • Why do you think Lego toys are popular among kids? Discuss.
  • According to the article, there is a growing market for Lego in Southeast Asia. How popular are Lego’s products in your country? Discuss.
  • Do you think toys are important for children? Why or why not? Discuss.

Clean Energy

  • Lego wants to use clean energy in its Vietnam factory. Do you think more factories should use clean energy? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you use any clean energy in your daily life (ex. solar lights, electric transport)? Discuss.
  • Imagine you had a business. Would you use clean energy? Why or why not? Discuss.