The future of Lego is played out in two pieces. One is literal: the famous Danish manufacturer is looking for ways to make its iconic plastic brick increasingly less dependent on oil and generate fewer emissions. The other is technological: the company wants children to continue choosing its bricks in a world where mobile phones, tablets, and video games compete for their attention. The smart brick, a new piece with luminous elements, is the first major bet in this direction. And the environmental challenge is even more ambitious: to find alternative materials to fossil-based plastic without the remedy ending up being worse than the problem.