Lego made vital progress in 2025 towards its objective of lowering virgin oil-based plastic resin in its toys: 52 % of the supplies it purchased to make its iconic bricks got here from renewable or recycled sources final yr, in contrast with 33 % in 2024.
That doesn’t imply half of each Lego piece incorporates renewable or recycled supplies. The corporate makes use of an accounting technique known as “mass steadiness” to substantiate its claims. That signifies that the uncooked provides that Lego buys to make its merchandise comprise a mixture of plastics from fossil fuels, and recycled and bio-based sources.
Different outstanding corporations that rely closely on plastic resins for his or her product formulation, together with shoemaker Crocs, have adopted this strategy, but it surely isn’t extensively used.
Right here’s the mathematics: In 2025, 60 % of the supplies that Lego bought fell into this class. One other 4 % got here from segregated sources constructed from sugarcane, utilized in Lego’s botanical components and figures; or a sort of plastic constructed from recycled synthetic marble counter tops, used for clear components similar to home windows.
“This was 4 % forward of our goal for the yr, and interprets into an estimated common of 52 % renewable sources within the uncooked supplies we purchase to make our merchandise,” Lego reported in its 2025 annual report, which incorporates its sustainability assertion.
Lego doesn’t share a particular proportion objective for sustainable supplies by a particular timeframe; its dedication is to extend the quantity yearly. It has to date evaluated greater than 600 potential replacements, and the corporate is collaborating carefully with suppliers on this transition.
“This consists of evaluating the product carbon footprints and life-cycle analyses of supplies, in addition to the origin of feedstocks to make sure traceability,” Lego stated in response to a Trellis inquiry about greatest practices.
Lego is progressive amongst toymakers with regards to adoption of bio-based and recycled supplies, particularly given the expense of those choices and the absence of stronger legal guidelines requiring corporations to maneuver away from oil-based plastic, stated Marcian Lee, analyst with Lux Analysis.
“In some methods, you’ll be able to view Lego’s dedication to extra sustainable supplies as being ‘virtuous’ and much more than what different corporations would have achieved within the absence of direct regulatory mandates,” he stated.
Plastic resin contributes 26 % of Lego’s emissions from suppliers and different oblique sources, which represents 99 % of the corporate’s greenhouse fuel footprint. Lego’s efforts to exchange new plastic produced utilizing fossil fuels helped it keep away from about 68 % of that impression, though the corporate doesn’t use that knowledge in its emissions stock.
Lego’s science-based goal is to cut back emissions by 37 % by 2032, utilizing 2019 because the baseline yr. Between 2024 and 2025, Lego reported a rise of 0.2 % for its market-based emissions. Since its baseline yr, nevertheless, Lego’s total footprint has elevated by greater than 60 %.
