Making LEGO® Bricks More Sustainable 

• No brick left unturned to deliver renewable and recycled raw materials to make long-lasting, durable, safe LEGO bricks
• Annual spend on environmental initiatives doubles by 2025 compared to 2023
• Increased use of the mass balance principle as a foundation to drive industry-wide change in materials supply

Investing to accelerate progress

By 2032, our ambition is to make LEGO products from materials that are renewable and recycled. This ambition requires investment and in 2023, we increased spending on environmental initiatives by 60% compared to 2022. By 2025 we plan to have doubled our annual spend compared to 2023. We know there isn’t one solution for the challenge we face, instead there are a range of solutions, that will help us achieve our ambition. We remain curious, creative and committed in finding them.

Materials that meet high standards

To date, we’ve tested more than 600 different materials for our LEGO bricks and elements. Some have already been successful, such as bio-PE which we use to make more than 200 different botanical elements and Minifigure accessories. Others have shown potential, but have not met our strict quality, safety and durability requirements, or would not have helped reduce our carbon footprint. This is the nature of innovation, but we always learn from the process and make progress.

One of our latest successes is the introduction of a new material called arMABS to our portfolio. This is produced using recycled artificial marble, commonly found in kitchen worktops, and from this year it will be used in over 500 different LEGO elements, including all our transparent elements such as light sabres, windscreens and windows. It will be found in around 60% of our sets.

We’re also excited to be working on the development of a material called ePOM that uses cutting-edge technology to mix renewable energy and CO₂ from bio-waste. We hope to start introducing this soon, for select LEGO elements, such as wheel axels.

Our role in driving industry change

We are pleased with the progress we’re making and will continue to test new materials and technology as they develop. However, we also want to play a broader role in driving industry change. Right now, the market for high quality sustainable plastic – that can be reused for decades – is still emerging, which means the quantities and quality of raw materials we and other manufacturers need are simply not yet available. We want to help change this.

Moving forward with mass balance

One of the ways we aim to do this is by increasing our use of material that has been certified according to mass balance principles. In simple terms, this is resin made from a mix of certified renewable or recycled raw materials, such as used cooking or plant oils, and virgin fossil. We can use this in our existing manufacturing process to make our products without compromising on quality or safety.

In 2023, 18 percent of all resin we purchased was certified according to mass balance principles, which translates into an estimated average of 12 percent renewable sources. We plan to significantly increase this percentage in 2024 and beyond. We don’t see mass balance as a long-term solution but for now, as technology around sustainable materials continues to develop, we believe it is the best option to stimulate the raw materials market, which in turn will help us to make our products more sustainable.

Building a more sustainable future for children

We will continue to join forces with suppliers, research institutions and other industries to develop and innovate new and existing materials to drive the industry’s transition to renewable and recycled materials. Today, this is our most important innovation journey – we know the environment is one of children’s biggest concerns and we want to play our part in building a more sustainable future for each new generation of children. We know all of this cannot be done alone and we encourage a collective effort so we can build progress together.

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Source

LEGO, press release, 2024-03-06.

Supplier

LEGO Group

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