By Chelsa Oren, Director, Ethanol and Biodiesel at EcoEngineers
U.S. ethanol has never had more places to go. Exports set a record of 8.4 billion liters (about 2.2 billion gallons), worth $4.7 billion, in 2025.1 Through June 2026, shipments are running 12% ahead of that pace.2 Canada, the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), India, Colombia and the Philippines are all buying, and recent trade deals have opened doors in the UK, Guatemala, and Vietnam.3
But every new market comes with its own rulebook. There is no single global framework for policy or verification. Each program uses its own life-cycle analysis (LCA), its own sustainability criteria, and its own verification requirements. The UK's Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) requires verified greenhouse gas (GHG) savings and mass-balance traceability before certificates are issued. Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR) score each fuel's carbon intensity (CI) using the Fuel LCA tool and require it to be verified. Imported ethanol made up 61% of the ethanol used to comply with the CFR in 2024,4 which means many U.S. producers are already managing more than one compliance framework. As these programs tighten their requirements, the smarter approach is to find overlaps and combine efforts, rather than treating each market as a separate project.
The bar is rising at home, too. Starting with the 2026 crop year, California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (CA-LCFS) requires expanded feedstock and land-use documentation. Continuous third-party sustainability certification follows in 2028.4 California now recognizes International Sustainability & Carbon Certification for the European Union (ISCC EU) as an eligible certification under the CA-LCFS.4 Washington's Clean Fuel Standard begins annual third-party verification in 2028.6
The writing is on the wall. International programs are generally stricter than U.S. programs, and U.S. programs are catching up. Producers who wait until they are forced to comply will feel it in delayed sales, costly audit findings and missed market windows.
Our advice is simple: be proactive, not reactive.
Build to the strictest standard you sell into. If you supply both the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and Canada's CFR, collect the data the CFR needs now. The RFS doesn't score your plant's CI, but more and more programs will.
Start your record keeping today. Feedstock sourcing, land use, energy use, and transport data are much easier to capture as you go than to rebuild after the fact.
Review your internal processes. Look for gaps, streamline where you can, and fix problems before an auditor finds them.
Bring in an independent third party early. An outside review before you enter a new market costs far less than a finding after you're in it.
EcoEngineers has completed hundreds of verifications across U.S. and international programs, and we see the same issues come up time and again. Producers who get their practices in place early move through audits faster, with fewer findings, and less back and forth. As global markets keep growing, that readiness will set exporters apart.
1. World Grain, “US Ethanol Exports Set New Volume, Value Records,” September 16, 2026, https://www.world-grain.com/articles/23222-us-ethanol-exports-set-new-volume-value-records.
2. AgWired, “USDA Report Highlights Ethanol Export Wildcards,” September 15, 2026, https://energy.agwired.com/2026/09/15/usda-report-highlights-ethanol-export-wildcards/.
3. AgWired, “USDA Report Highlights Ethanol Export Wildcards.”
4. Renewable Fuels Association, “RFA Comments on Proposed Amendments to Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations,” January 2026, https://ethanolrfa.org/media-and-news/category/news-releases/article/2026/01/rfa-comments-on-proposed-amendments-to-canada-s-clean-fuel-regulations.
5. California Air Resources Board, “Update on the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the Role of Certification,” presentation by Carmen Meialua, ISCC Regional Stakeholder Committee – North America, November 18, 2025, https://iscc-system.org/wp-content/uploads/add-from-server-reloaded/Update-on-the-Low-Carbon-Fuel-Standard-LCFS-and-the-Role-of-Certification-%E2%80%93-Carmen-Meialua-Air-Pollution-Specialist-California-Air-Resources-Board-CARB-US.pdf.
6. ISCC System, “ISCC EU Applicable under California’s LCFS,” August 12, 2026, https://iscc-system.org/iscc-is-now-applicable-under-the-low-carbon-fuel-standard-framework/.
7. Washington State Department of Ecology, “Concise Explanatory Statement, Chapter 173-424 WAC, Clean Fuels Program Rule,” Publication 25-14-090, October 2025, https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/documents/2514090.pdf.