LEGO on track to replace oil in bricks with more expensive plastic

The use of more expensive renewable and recycled plastic in bricks is part of the LEGO Group’s commitment to a sustainable future.

Alongside record sales and profits in the first half of the year, the LEGO Group today offered an update on its sustainability initiatives so far in 2024. The latter is part of the company’s longterm aim to reduce the use of fossil materials in its products by purchasing more than half of the raw materials required for their production from sustainable sources.

In a new report by Reuters, the LEGO Group has confirmed that it will be gradually bringing down the oil content in its bricks by paying up to 70% more for certified renewable resin, the raw plastic used in the creation of many of its pieces.

The news follows the LEGO Group revealing it had abandoned plans to make bricks from recycled bottles last year, when it found that the creation of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) didn't in fact reduce the fossil fuel emissions required to produce the elements.

"This means a significant increase in the cost of producing a LEGO brick," explained CEO Niels Christiansen. "With a family-owner committed to sustainability, it's a privilege that we can pay extra for the raw materials without having to charge customers extra."

Christiansen went on to state that the LEGO Group is currently on track to hit its target of using more than half of the renewable resin it will require in 2026, up from just 30% in the first half of this year.

A number of the LEGO Group’s suppliers are already said to be using bio-waste such as cooking oil and food industry waste fat in the creation of renewable resin, as well as replacing fossil fuels in plastic production with recycled materials.

Fossil-based plastic is almost a third of the price of sustainable options, according to Neste, the world's largest producer of renewable feedstocks.

"We sense more activity and willingness to invest in this now than we did just a year ago," said Christiansen.

The report also notes that Hasbro has already started to incorporate plant-based or recycled materials into some of its toys, with Mattel planning to only use recycled, recyclable or bio-based plastics in all of its products by 2030.

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