‘Green’ funerals are growing

Black might be the traditional sombre hue associated with funerals, but today, a growing number of people are opting to put a bit more colour into their final send off by ‘going green’.  Green or eco-friendly funerals are becoming increasingly popular as people’s personal concern for the environment is also reflected in the way they want their death to be celebrated.

Whether it’s an ‘eco-warrior’ who has strong views about sustainability, or a family that wishes for a loved one to rest in a beautiful woodland setting, it’s the role of the funeral director to make sure the relatives understand the choices available and some of the differences compared to a traditional funeral.

Whatever term people use – green, eco-friendly, natural – it’s all about considering the environment as a stakeholder – and understanding the impact of a funeral and all its associated services upon it.

A traditional funeral will have a fairly large carbon footprint, particularly if cremation is chosen, although modern crematoria are becoming much more thermally efficient. The main carbon inputs for a funeral involve the construction of the wooden coffin and its metal adornments that take time to decay, the use of toxic chemicals in the embalming process, the fossil fuel required for transportation of the body and the energy used in the continual upkeep of the graveyard. Even imported flowers come with carbon air miles baggage.

Green burials reject cremation and traditional graveyards for burial in natural settings and promote the use of non-toxic and biodegradable materials from sustainable sources.  Read the full article reported in SAIFinsight.