SIOUX FALLS, SD (Dec. 18, 2013) – POET has reached its first milestone under the company-wide “Ingreenuity” sustainability program. Since 2009, POET biorefineries have produced more than 700 million pounds of bio-based products, surpassing the target set in 2010.

POET’s increase in production of bio-based products has been led by Voilá™ Corn Oil, which is now installed in all of POET’s 27 plants and is responsible for over 700 million pounds of product since 2009. In addition to POET’s Ingreenuity goals, POET produces approximately 9 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually and has sold more than 1.2 million tons of liquefied CO2 into U.S. markets since 2009.

“While renewable fuel production is an important part of what we do every day, POET is also committed to getting other sustainable products into the market,” POET CEO Jeff Lautt said. “We continue to increase the volume of co-products produced at our biorefineries, and we’re hard at work finding new ways to reap as much value as possible from corn and cellulosic material.”

Ingreenuity is a company-wide effort to continue to improve the environmental performance of ethanol in four areas: water use, sustainable production, greenhouse gas emissions and the development of bio-based products. POET continues to make substantial progress in the remaining three Ingreenuity areas.

“Sustainability is central to what we do at POET, and Ingreenuity helps ensure we stay focused on that,” Lautt said. “I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made toward reaching our goals. We will stay committed to that path.”

Below is a detailed list of each goal as well as POET’s progress towards meeting that goal, based on the Ingreenuity baseline year of 2009:

Goal 1 – Water Use [60% complete]: As of November 2013, POET averages 2.6 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol. That is down from the 2009 rate of 3 gallons of water as the company continues to work towards the goal of a 2.33 gallon average. POET is currently saving 800 million gallons of water per year compared to 2009. In 1987, the first plant POET purchased took in 17 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol.

Goal 2 – Increased Sustainable Production [ongoing]: POET continues to produce more ethanol per bushel of corn through new technology, better management and improvements to the production process. Since 2009, POET has increased ethanol yield by over 3%.

Goal 3 – Reduce GHG Intensity [33% complete]: Since 2009, POET has reduced GHG intensity by 3.3% and is on track to meet its 2020 GHG intensity reduction goal. POET reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity by 10% from 2005 to 2009 and Ingreenuity pushes POET to reduce GHG intensity by another 10% by 2020.

Goal 4 – Bioproducts [100% complete]: Thanks to Voilá, a bio-based corn oil derived from POET’s BPX process, POET has already met its fourth goal of producing 500 million pounds of bio-based products by 2015. As of November 2013, over 350,000 tons of corn oil has been produced by POET plants. Even with this goal met, POET continues to perform research activities to seek out more opportunities for additional bioproducts and will continue to be a leader in bioproducts development and production.

About POET

POET, one of the world’s largest ethanol producers, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 25-year-old company has a production capacity in excess of 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol and 9 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually from its network of 27 production facilities. POET also operates a pilot-scale cellulosic bio-ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs, leaves, husk and some stalk as feedstock, and expects to commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa through its joint venture with DSM. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.