LEGO has announced that in 2025, 52% of the materials used to make its bricks and elements came from recycled and renewable sources. The company was able to achieve this feat largely due to the mass balance approach. LEGO hopes to see this number continue to increase in the future.
LEGO
LEGO marks sustainability milestone in 2025
New materials must meet the company’s high safety, quality, and durability requirements, which has been LEGO’s main challenge when pursuing more sustainable solutions. As a result, the company has experimented with various materials, from mixing plant oils with virgin fossil, to using Brazilian sugarcane and kitchen worktop offcuts.
By increasing the renewable and recycled materials it uses, LEGO can decrease the virgin fossils needed to create them. This can be achieved via two methods:
- Physical content: When recycled and renewable materials, like sugarcane or kitchen worktop offcuts, are used directly in bricks and elements.
- Mass balance approach: Where suppliers mix renewable raw materials into the material LEGO uses, allowing the company to claim attributed content based on the amount of renewable materials that are purchased.
arMABS
Since 2024, over 900 of its transparent elements (e.g., Lightsabers, windscreens, and windows) contain 20% of recycled materials (excluding colourants) from artificial marble kitchen worktops. Once transitioned, they will feature in over 85% of LEGO sets.
bio-PE
In 2018, flexible parts (e.g., flowers, botanical elements, and minifigure accessories) were made with 89% renewable material from Brazilian sugarcane. Over 200 different elements are made with this material, with around half of LEGO sets containing at least one of these elements.
ePOM
Robust, rigid LEGO elements (e.g., axles) are being designed to be made using a plastic called ePOM. This material is made utilising cutting-edge technology that mixes renewable energy and CO2 from bio-waste to create e-methanol.