Digimarc Named to Fortune’s 2023 Change the World List

Digimarc Corporation (Nasdaq: DMRC), the pioneer in product digitization and leader in digital watermarking, today announced the company has been named to Fortune’s 2023 Change the World list, a global ranking of more than 50 top companies making a positive social impact through business practices. Fortune recognized Digimarc for its innovation and commitment to global collaboration in the fight to end plastic pollution. Digimarc Recycle, a product for high-performance sorting, addresses this growing issue by improving the accuracy of sortation for recyclable plastic waste while revealing never-before-available data to unlock benefits for people, the planet, and profits.

“We are honored to be recognized by Fortune for the positive impact we are making in the fight to end plastic pollution,” said Digimarc President and CEO Riley McCormack. “Our message is simple: no more excuses. Global collaboration is critical, and so is taking action. The technology to effect change exists today.”

As governments and industry groups move toward circular economies for recycling and reusing plastics in consumer packaging, there is a critical need for accurate, reliable, and deterministic identification to classify and sort various packaging materials at scale during the recycling process – even in the harshest conditions.

Digimarc Recycle represents a revolution in the sortation and recycling of plastic waste. By linking covert digital watermarks on packaging with an extensible cloud-based repository of product attributes, Digimarc Recycle overcomes the limitations of today’s optical sorting technologies to drive a step change in the quality and quantity of recyclate. Consumer goods brands and retailers implement Digimarc’s digital watermarks across the surface area of a package or label artwork, where the covert nature of digital watermarks works well with packaging designs and branding.

Digimarc digital watermarks also generate a massively valuable by-product: never-before-seen-data about the plastic waste stream itself. The industry is using this novel post-consumption product data to:

• define more efficient and effective Extended Producer Responsibility schemes;
• inform more sustainable packaging design;
• generate insights that can reduce the total amount of packaging used; and more.

Engaging consumers in the recycling process is also crucial. With Digimarc Recycle, brands now have a direct-to-consumer channel of communication to deliver product-specific and location-based disposal instructions. Major brands and retailers already distribute Digimarc Recycle-ready packaging.

“Our world-changing technology redefines how businesses and brands can influence everyday decisions and elevates the possibility of a world with no more plastic pollution,” said McCormack. “We invite businesses worldwide to join us on our mission to fight plastic pollution.”

About Fortune’s Change the World List

Fortune’s annual “Change the World” list is intended to showcase the power of capitalism to improve the human condition by identifying companies that have made a significant social or environmental impact through their profit-making strategy and operations.

Each year, Fortune looks for new companies with recent impact and devotes several months to assessing nominees. A team of journalists from Fortune then investigates each of the candidates independently. The editors of Fortune select the final list based on the magazine’s reporting and analysis.

The selection process begins with an open call for nominations from business, academic, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. Companies with revenues greater than US$1 billion are given preference, and Fortune strives to create a global and well-rounded list. Nominees are assessed on a mix of factors, including:

• Measurable social impact – the reach, nature, and durability – on one or more specific societal problems.
• Business results of socially impactful work. Profitability and contribution to shareholder value outweigh the benefits to the company’s reputation.
• Degree of innovation relative to others in its industry and whether other companies have followed its example or partnered with it.

About Digimarc

Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) is a global leader in product digitization. A pioneer in digital watermarks, Digimarc connects every physical and digital item to a digital twin that enables capture of product data, records events and interactions, and supports powerful new automations. Trusted to deter counterfeiting of global currency for more than 20 years, Digimarc is also recognized for ensuring product authenticity, improving plastics recycling, and more, with a commitment to promoting a prosperous, safer, and more sustainable world. In 2023, Digimarc was named to the Fortune 2023 Change the World list and honored as a 2023 Fast Company World Changing Ideas finalist. See more at Digimarc.com.

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