Carbon Credit Environmental Services (CCES) of Detroit has come up with its own "carbon credit" certification program that it wants to propose as an industry standard. The company wants to use the certification to sell its own carbon offset services and has applied for a patent for the formula for calculating carbon emissions.

CCES is creating a labeling program that considers the entire life cycle carbon cost of goods including their final disposition. Companies with the label who offset the item's footprint can sell "carbon free" goods as certified as CCES. This labeling may appeal to a limited audience of consumers willing to pre-pay for the carbon footprint of their purchases.

The carbon offset market is largely unregulated with some customers paying for carbon reductions that don't actually happen. While CCES' program would give customers confidence in their offset purchases, it isn't a standard since it is bound to their initiatives. An independent certification standard that can be verified and enforced is sorely needed for the carbon offset market to take off.