Origin Materials Announces New Partnership with Alliance to End Plastic Waste

By: Origin Materials, Inc. via Business Wire

September 21, 2021 at 07:00 AM EDT

Origin’s fully recyclable carbon negative PET to drive innovation and build a sustainable and circular global plastic value chain

Origin Materials, Inc. (“Origin” or “Origin Materials”) (NASDAQ: ORGN, ORGNW), the world’s leading carbon negative materials company, today announced it has joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a global non-profit organization.

Members of the Alliance include industry leaders across the plastics value chain, working towards a common goal of developing, deploying and scaling solutions to end plastic waste in the environment. As a member of the Alliance, Origin will work with fellow members to drive innovation and build a sustainable and circular global plastic value chain. The modern world is built on advanced materials like plastics which are high performance, light weight and cost effective. Since plastics are widely used for their functional advantages, companies are aggressively seeking net zero or low carbon sustainable solutions to fossil-based plastics.

The partnership builds on Origin’s ability to leverage its patented technology platform, which turns inexpensive, sustainable wood residues into carbon-negative materials, to decarbonize and mitigate the climate impact of the global plastic supply chain. Origin’s technology has broad implications for a wide range of end products, including clothing, textiles, plastics, packaging, car parts, tires, carpeting, toys, and more with a ~$1 trillion addressable market.

Origin’s carbon negative PET is being commercialized to reduce the carbon footprint and climate impact of plastic materials. An analysis by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that the impacts of plastics on climate change have been widely underestimated.

Many of today's clothing, carpets, automotive parts, and other products are made from plastics and additional chemicals derived from fossil fuels. During petroleum extraction and processing, greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming and climate change. Origin’s sustainable carbon-negative PET is physically and chemically identical to fossil-based PET. Since Origin PET is produced using sustainable wood residues instead of fossil fuel as feedstock, it has the potential to substantially reduce the energy used and greenhouse gases generated in the process. Additionally, compared with fossil-based PET, Origin PET is equally recyclable within the existing infrastructure, which is critical to creating a circular economy with a significantly reduced carbon footprint.

“Stakeholders across the manufacturing sector and end product markets recognize that to create a sustainable, circular economy, we must aggressively decarbonize the global plastics supply chain to mitigate the climate impact of plastic,” said Origin Materials co-CEO Rich Riley. “We are excited to join together with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste to drive awareness and technical expertise of carbon-negative innovations in reducing the footprint of plastics, and toward the new circular economy.”

Jacob Duer, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Alliance, said: “As the issue of plastic waste moves up in the global sustainability agenda, our mission to develop, deploy and scale solutions to end plastic waste in the environment is more relevant than ever before. Strengthening participation across the plastics value chain with Origin Materials will help accelerate our collective efforts. Together, we can work towards helping to create a more sustainable future and I look forward to a fruitful partnership.”

About the Alliance to End Plastic Waste

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (Alliance) is a global non-profit organisation with the mission to end plastic waste in the environment. The Alliance develops, deploys, and scales solutions across four strategic areas—infrastructure, innovation, education and engagement, and cleanup. As of June 2021, its portfolio comprises over 30 projects across 60 cities worldwide.

Tackling plastic waste is a complex challenge that requires collective action. Since 2019, the Alliance has convened a global network of industry leaders across the plastics value chain, together with government, civil society, entrepreneurs, and communities to work towards advancing a circular economy for plastic waste. For more information, visit: www.endplasticwaste.org

About Origin Materials

Headquartered in West Sacramento, Origin Materials is the world's leading carbon negative materials company. Origin’s mission is to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials. Over the past 10 years, Origin has developed a platform for turning the carbon found in inexpensive, plentiful, non-food biomass such as sustainable wood residues into useful materials while capturing carbon in the process. Origin’s patented technology platform can help revolutionize the production of a wide range of end products, including clothing, textiles, plastics, packaging, car parts, tires, carpeting, toys, and more with a ~$1 trillion addressable market. In addition, Origin’s technology platform is expected to provide stable pricing largely decoupled from the petroleum supply chain, which is exposed to more volatility than supply chains based on sustainable wood residues. Origin’s patented drop-in core technology, economics and carbon impact are supported by a growing list of major global customers and investors.

For more information, visit www.originmaterials.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Origin Materials’ business strategy, estimated total addressable market and ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Alliance and partner with others to build a circular global plastic value chain. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of the management of Origin Materials and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Origin Materials. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including that Origin Materials may be unable to successfully commercialize its products; the effects of competition on Origin Materials’ business; disruptions and other impacts to Origin Materials’ business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health or economic crises; and those factors discussed in the prospectus filed with the SEC on July 30, 2021 under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents Origin Materials has filed, or will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Origin Materials presently does not know, or that Origin Materials currently believes are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Origin Materials’ expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Origin Materials anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its assessments to change. However, while Origin Materials may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Origin Materials specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Origin Materials’ assessments of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.