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Some biofuels producers want to set themselves apart from their competitors even as the nascent American industry seeks a foothold in the transportation sector.

The international Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels, housed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, aims to create a voluntary certification program that would identify which biofuels producers use environmentally, economically and socially sustainable methods. About 50 industry stakeholders gathered in Durham this week to help fine-tune the draft standards.

"Not all biofuels are created equal and we need to be able to say that," said Lyle Estill, founder of Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro.

He and others in the industry said distributors could market certified products to individuals, government agencies and corporate fleet managers who are willing to pay a premium for quality fuel.

For example, the certification would guarantee that the biofuel was produced and distributed in a way that did not exploit workers, damage ecosystems, contribute to global warming or cause food insecurity in vulnerable communities. The roundtable hopes to release official standards by June and start certifying in 2010, said Matt Rudolf, who is handling the stakeholder meetings in the U.S.

"The quicker that we can get this, the quicker that we can impact policy discussions," he said.

However, it's unclear whether the certification process - although voluntary - would help or hinder national efforts to curtail the country's petroleum consumption.

Questions abound:

• Will producers be pressured to cut corners given the economic crisis and recent collapse in the price of oil?

• Will small farmers and producers be able to afford the certification and record-keeping requirements?

• What are the acceptable and unacceptable tradeoffs? Will producers receive certification if their product improves ecological health in the area but requires substantial government subsidies?

Biofuels - once seen as the antidote to the global oil fix - has been blamed in recent years for rising food prices and destruction of natural habitats in developing countries. Thus, some in the industry want to move away from relying on sugar, corn and palm as feedstocks. But they don't yet have the capability to produce on a large scale second or third-generation biofuels made from non-food plants and algae.

Still, the U.S. aims to increase biofuels production to 36 billion gallons per year by 2022 as a way to improve national security and economic independence, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

North Carolina wants to boost production of locally grown and produced biofuels from less than 1 percent to 10 percent of the state's liquid fuels supply by 2017.

The opening of two new ethanol plants could help the state increase its production from about 2 million gallons per year to 100 million gallons, said Norman Smit, director of communications and education for Biofuels Center of North Carolina.

The center plans to apply for federal grants to pay for a pilot facility that would produce cellulosic biofuels, Smit said. The center also aims to help develop financial incentives for new companies and partnerships with farmers to grow feedstocks and colleges to train future workers.

"We're here today (at the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels meeting) because the decisions that are made here will affect North Carolinians at some point in the future," Smith said. "It's important to help shape policies."

Bob Armantrout, a biofuels instructor at Central Carolina Community College, expressed skepticism that customers would appreciate certification of a needed commodity the way they do discretionary Fair Trade coffees. Moreover, Armantrout portrayed biofuels as a possible luxury good that should be applied in the most efficient ways possible, rather than a "green, clean silver bullet."

"You know what, you can't buy biofuels to put in your Hummer," he said. "It's a shame when we take a fuel that may or may not be sustainable, depending on how you define it, and use it in an inefficient engine."