PR85470

BEAVERTON, Oregon, Sept. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- Supported by partnerships with industry leaders in consumer packaging and recycling

Digimarc Corporation (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2910075-1&h=3365599691&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.digimarc.com%2F&a=Digimarc+Corporation )

(NASDAQ: DMRC) announced today that the Digimarc Platform has been chosen as

the principal technology of the cross-value chain initiative "HolyGrail 2.0" to improve

sortation and higher-quality recycling rates for packaging in the European Union (EU).

The industry-led initiative is facilitated by AIM (Association des Industries de Marque),

the European Brands Association, with its more than 2,500 member organizations.

(https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2910075-1&h=215505358&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aim.be%2Fpriorities%2Fdigital-watermarks&a=AIM+(Association+des+Industries+de+Marque)%2C+the+European+Brands+Association%2C+with+its+more+than+2%2C500+member+organizations )

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Digimarc was the technology ultimately chosen at the conclusion of the highly

publicized HolyGrail 1.0 (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2910075-1&h=2538259535&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.digimarc.com%2Fabout%2Fnews-events%2Fpress-releases%2F2019%2F05%2F29%2Fdigimarc-barcode-scores-high-on-recycling&a=HolyGrail+1.0 )

initiative under the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy, which

included 29 corporations and was led by Procter & Gamble. Now, under HolyGrail

2.0, the Leadership Team includes world-leading brands P&G, Nestle, PepsiCo and

Danone. Over 85 cross-industry companies and organizations have signed to be

active participants in the next stages of pilots and industrial-scale

demonstrations towards commercialization.

"The launch of this critical cross-value chain initiative serves as validation

that Digimarc is a vital piece of the puzzle to solve the world's plastic waste

problem. We look forward to the next stage of development working with consumer

brands and retailers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, and industry trade

organizations to engage the full supply chain to advance the circular economy

in the EU and beyond," said Bruce Davis, Chairman and CEO of Digimarc.

"Based on our discoveries and success in the HolyGrail 1.0 initiative, Procter

& Gamble is proud to launch the first commercial products that integrate

Digimarc's technology with a focus primarily on improved detection in waste

facilities and to help us meet our sustainability goals," said Gian De Belder,

Technical Director, Packaging Sustainability, P&G. "We look forward to the

further evolution of the technology as we continue to introduce a wider range

of watermark-based packaging into the marketplace. It is great to see the

potential that intelligent packaging brings, as well as the role that digital

watermarking technology can play in the fields of innovation, sustainability

and digital connectivity – all areas highlighted in the European Green Deal."

Improving Plastic Sortation

Advancing recycling sorting with digital watermarks would be delivered to

recycling facilities through existing sortation equipment manufacturers.

Digimarc has delivered its advanced technology components to TOMRA Sorting

Solutions and Pellenc ST, the world's two leading sortation equipment

manufacturers, with an estimated 80 percent global market share.

"Our work with Digimarc in the HolyGrail 1.0 demos and trials demonstrated the

viability of the technology and the benefits this could mean to our customers.

We look forward to continuing our work with Digimarc in HolyGrail 2.0 towards

bringing to market the enormous potential of the technology for recycling

sortation," said Oliver Lambertz, Vice President and Head of Business

Development, TOMRA.

"Pellenc ST is convinced that marker technology is an interesting opportunity

to sort food packaging from non-food applications. Our cooperation with

Digimarc to assess the potential of the technical solution in sorting plant

conditions is a unique chance to accelerate the potential market penetration,"

said Antoine Bourley, co-founder and R&D Manager, Pellenc. "We clearly see a

potential solution to further improve plastic recycling quality."

Supports Sustainability and Circular Economy Programs of Leading Brands and Retailers

Industry projections show a significant shortfall by 2025 of post-consumer

recyclate needed by manufacturers to meet pubic pledges and

increasingly-stringent government regulation. Improved sortation, such as the

detection of food versus non-food prior use of the package, better ensures

manufacturers will be able to meet such demand. A further benefit to the

adoption of Digimarc is the potential for eco-modulation (reduction) of

Extended Producer Responsibility fees paid by manufacturers for the costs they impose

on society through their products in the marketplace and subsequent waste recovery.

"We are excited to integrate Digimarc Barcode in our product packaging hitting

shelves soon in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic and Finland.

Sustainability is a key foundation element of Orkla and we are eager to offer

packaging that can be more accurately identified and sorted to support the

circular economy," said Pavel Komurka, Packaging Innovation – Sustainability

Coordinator, Orkla Group Procurement, Orkla ASA.

Expanding Industry Service Provider Partners

Beyond consumer brands and equipment manufacturers, Digimarc is actively

expanding the universe of Digimarc-trained suppliers to the industry, including

mold makers, printers and packaging converters. Product manufacturers will be

able to continue working with their existing suppliers, with minimal imposition

to existing workflows.

"We are working closely with Digimarc to deliver the first enhanced thermoform

plastic trays using the company's latest advancements. The results are

outstanding, regardless of the color of the plastic product or if the material

is virgin or already from a recycling stream. Most impressive is the detection

of food versus non-food prior use of the material, a game-changer in terms of

impact to the recycling industry," said Nicolas Lorenz, Chief Commercial

Officer, PACCOR, a leading European packaging producer.

"We are pleased to provide Digimarc Barcode enhancements to our customers,

allowing us to make their IML packaging intelligent by means of Interactive IML

labels," said Nico Van de Walle, Product & Circular Economy Manager, Verstraete

IML (in-mould labeling). "Their focus today is mainly on sustainability, and

Digimarc technology can help them contribute to the circular economy and meet

their sustainability goals."

"We are excited about the potential impact Digimarc could have on recycling.

One of the greatest issues affecting recycling today is contamination. By

incorporating Digimarc into product graphics, brand owners can potentially link

consumers to information on package recyclability – giving consumers a better

understanding of what they should place in a recycling bin," said Robert Flores,

Vice President, Sustainability, Berry Global, a Fortune 500 manufacturer of plastic

packaging products.

Developing Programs in Recycling and Circular Economy

Digimarc is working in program development stages for two country-wide programs

in Europe that will demonstrate enhancement of objects for recycling and

detection, from consumer disposal on to monitoring the recycling waste chain

and outputs in facilities. In addition, Digimarc is actively pursuing new

methodologies for creating identities in plastic objects, such as through laser

ablation, in which it is possible to serialize each individual package. Another

effort is the participation of consumers for more significant collections of

waste using their smartphones, in which scanning a package would inform them of

the recyclability of that package based on the consumer's curbside waste disposal service.

In addition to its work in AIM's HolyGrail 2.0 initiative, Digimarc is a now

Founding Activator of the U.S. Plastics Pact (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2910075-1&h=832698528&u=https%3A%2F%2Fusplasticspact.org%2F&a=U.S.+Plastics+Pact ),

a collaborative led by The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund (WWF),

launched as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's global Plastics Pact network.

The U.S. Plastics Pact is an ambitious initiative to unify diverse public-private stakeholders

across the plastics value chain to rethink the way we design, use, and reuse plastics,

to create a path toward a circular economy for plastic in the United States.

As a trusted advisor and leader in the auto-identification of objects for

recycling, Digimarc has shared its expertise over the past year through its

membership in such organizations as the Association for Plastics Recycling,

Petcore Europe, Consumer Goods Forum, Consumer Brands Association, Sustainable

Packaging Coalition, the European Plastics Pact, the U.S. Plastics Pact and the

Active and Intelligent Packaging Industry Association.

About Digimarc

Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) is a pioneer in the automatic

identification of media, including packaging, other commercial print, digital

images, audio and video. The Digimarc Platform provides innovative and

comprehensive automatic identification software and services to simplify search

and transform information discovery through unparalleled reliability,

efficiency and security. The Digimarc Platform enables applications that

benefit retailers and consumer brands, national and state government agencies,

media and entertainment industries, and others. Digimarc is based in Beaverton,

Oregon, with a growing supplier network around the world. Visit digimarc.com

(https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2910075-1&h=524012408&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digimarc.com%2F&a=digimarc.com )

and follow us @digimarc (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2910075-1&h=1262282350&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fdigimarc%3Flang%3Den&a=%40digimarc )

to learn more about The Barcode of Everything(R).

SOURCE  Digimarc Corporation

CONTACT: D.J. Vogt, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications,

dj.vogt@digimarc.com, +1 971-348-2012