Mass Balance
The raw materials we make LEGO® bricks from are changing. 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 attributed to our products. And we plan to significantly increase this percentage in 2024 and beyond!
The Mass Balance approach involves producing materials that are a mix of both virgin fossil and renewable and recycled raw materials, such as used cooking or plant oils. Our suppliers mix these raw materials together to produce a material we buy to make LEGO products.
How do you make LEGO bricks with mass balance?
Allow us to pop our technical hard hats on for a moment and explain how it works.
Our supplier sources both virgin fossil and renewable and recycled raw materials. These are mixed, and then mixed again, to create the material we buy from them. This process is done on a large scale and the material created is supplied to a number of different companies, for many different uses. At the LEGO Group, we can use the material to make the long-lasting LEGO bricks you know and love. Its chemical structure is such that we can use it in our existing manufacturing process, without compromising on quality or safety.
Because it’s not possible to separate the recycled and renewable raw materials from the virgin fossil it was mixed with, we can’t guarantee the level of recycled or renewable content in our individual products, but we have certificates for the material mix, which tells us the grade of the attributed content, that we have purchased from the supplier.
End goal
The mass balance approach helps us to start the transition to using more and more renewable and recycled raw materials but it’s not the end goal. Our ambition is that by 2032, our products will be made from materials that are renewable or recycled. But right now, there aren’t enough quality recycled and renewable raw materials available. We will continue to join forces and work with industry to develop solutions and do our part to drive demand.
Until then
As technology around sustainable materials continues to develop, we believe certified and traceable mass balance is the best option to stimulate production of sustainable raw materials and ultimately increase the sustainable material content in our products.
We’ll keep increasing the amount of renewable and recycled raw materials we buy from our suppliers as they become available as this means that over time the amount of virgin fossil material needed for the production process will decrease.
