Green Burial 101 Goal: To familiarize funeral professionals with essential information needed to serve those seeking environmentally friendly options for final disposition of a loved one. Objectives: After completing this course, you should better understand the: • Objectives of green / natural burial • Characteristics of interested consumers • Modes of body preparation • Options for caskets • Ways of greening-up the cremation process • Importance of verifiable standards • Potential liabilities and how to minimize them • Myths versus realities about green burial Introduction For nearly a century and a half, in the United States and a handful of other countries, funeral service has focused on slowing the process of decay and regeneration. Green (a.k.a. natural) burial, on the other hand, seeks to allow a consumer to embrace this process -- often while still providing short-term preservation of the decedent -- so that a death can connect in some way, even nominally, to renewal and life. For most of these families, this concept provides a great deal of solace. While there are those who perceive green burial as a somewhat ‘radical’ movement, the reality is that, in many ways, these practices predate those we now consider ‘traditional,” which really ought to be referred to as “conventional.” Throughout history only some cultures, most notably the ancient Egyptians, included the use of practices or products that prevented a body from returning to earth naturally. In this country, up until the late 19th century, green burial was the norm, although back in the day is was just referred to as … “burial.” A great many fears and misconceptions about green burial have prevented funeral directors from wanting to offer eco-friendly options to the public. Some regard it is a “race to the bottom” and a significant financial threat. Others feel that it prohibits possibilities such as open casket viewings, and is nothing more than immediate burial. Most believe that it creates any number of additional liabilities. This course is intended to explore these issues and others associated with this new, yet very old, way of caring for the dead – all in the name of providing another way for families to honor the dead, heal the living, and relate to the environment in a manner that reflects their social / spiritual values. Green Burial 1 Table of Contents (Syllabus) Goal, Objectives, Introduction 1 Historical Context 3 Definitions and Environmental Objectives 3 Market Snapshot: A Closer Look at the Green Consumer 5 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Cremation 7 Body Preparation: Embalming and Alternatives 9 Burial Containers 11 The Importance of Verifiable Standards 11 Burial Grounds 13 Greenwashing 14 Potential Liability 16 FAQs About Green Burial 16 Closing Comments 18 Green Burial Planning Guide Template 19 Test of Knowledge (16 Questions) and Evaluation Important Note: This material is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace competent professional legal, medical, or governmental advice. Anyone involved in the preparation or dissemination of this course shall not be liable for any inappropriate use of the information contained in the course beyond the purposes stated above. The thumbs up symbol is intended to be used as a reference tool. All the information in this course is important, but these are items that merit special attention. It is the student’s responsibility to follow laws and regulations related to any aspect of this course and its materials. Green Burial 2 Historical Context The contemporary concept of green burial began to emerge as an alternative to conventional funeral service when, in 1993, the World’s first “woodland burial ground” was opened in Carlisle, England. The cemetery would eventually spawn hundreds of other smaller, natural burial grounds, usually within conventional cemeteries, where embalming was not required, and burial containers usually consisted of simple wooden caskets or shrouds. It also helped bring forward the creation of the United Kingdom’s Natural Deathcare Centre, which was formed to create awareness for end-of-life rituals that could take place with reduced environmental impacts. In 1998, Ramsey Creek Preserve became the first exclusively green cemetery to open in the United States, founded by Dr. William “Billy” and Kimberly Campbell. Questionable practices by other so-called “natural” burial grounds that opened soon afterwards, led to the formation of the Green Burial Council (GBC) in 2005; it is an independent, non-profit organization. Rather than allowing green burial to diminish conventional funeral service, the organization has committed itself to cultivating genuine environmental leadership in the deathcare industry, and works to make green burial an option within funeral service rather than an alternative to it. Definition and Environmental Objectives A “green” or “natural” burial is characterized by consumer choices relating to the funeralization and final disposition of their loved one. Those choices may include, but are not limited to: using non-toxic embalming chemicals and selecting a casket that is made of a renewable resource. A green burial is a way for an increasing number of consumers to make caring for the dead more meaningful, simple, and sustainable. Green Burial 3 & What makes a burial truly green is when it is known to further one or more legitimate environmental aims, specifically: protecting worker health, conserving natural resources, reducing carbon emissions, and preserving/restoring habitat. Protecting worker health is accomplished through green burial primarily by reducing the use of toxic chemicals in the prep room. While formaldehyde, for example, is biodegradable and has not been proven to cause the ecological degradation in the ground, it is now regarded by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a “known” carcinogen. And the National Cancer Institute determined in 2010 that embalmers have been found to have a much higher rate of contracting diseases such as leukemia and nasal cancer. Worker health is also protected via green burial because it eliminates and/or reduces the use of toxic chemicals in factories that produce caskets and urns. Conserving natural resources is brought about through green burial by eliminating or greatly reducing the need for watering and mowing, as well as the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Reducing carbon emissions is achieved via green burial primarily because of elimination of the use of burial vaults. Much energy is associated with the mining, manufacturing and transporting of burial vaults. Metal caskets, which are not used in green burial, also create a tremendous amount of carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Preserving / restoring habitat is accomplished in couple of ways. First, conservation and natural burial grounds function not only as cemeteries, but also as permanently protected natural areas, with many stewarded by conservation entities such as land trusts. Second, green burial helps protect habitat, whenever a casket is used that is comprised of timber that comes from a sustainably harvested forest. Of course, being able to distinguish products, practices, and facilities that further real environmental aims from those that do not is the challenge, not only in this field but in many others as well. Green Burial 4 DID YOU KNOW? Each year in the U.S.A. we bury: 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid; 30-plus million board feet of hardwoods in casket (much of it tropical). 90,272 tons of steel, 2,700 tons of copper/bronze in caskets (more than what was used to build the Golden Gate Bridge); and 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete in burial vaults (enough to build a two lane highway halfway across the country. & Market Snapshot – a Closer Look at the Green Consumer The biggest mistake funeral directors make about green burial customers is to believe that they are primarily driven by price. While “simplicity” is certainly appealing to these families, market research and a great deal of anecdotal evidence suggests that saving money is not their primary motivation. If a family cares only about price, it’s hard to imagine why they would ever move away from direct cremation. And the fact is, they’re not. Many memorial societies, for example, who are comprised of people almost exclusively looking for low-cost dispositions are not reporting a high number of green burials taking place among their members, even though some of the groups have been heavily promoting this concept. It’s important to keep in mind that when it comes to goods and services in other industries, people seeking out eco-conscious options do not do so expecting to save money. Often times, these consumers know they will be asked to pay a premium. And they will, if they believe that there exists a legitimate reason for doing so. For example, a person who has gotten used to recycling grocery bags may not be likely to see value in spending a great deal of money on a casket they will use for a day or two and then bury forever. They might, however, be inclined to pay more for a casket that was manufactured domestically rather than shipped from another country. They may also Green Burial 5 be willing to pay more for a casket if it was made without toxic chemicals, or if it was produced from wood that came from a sustainably harvested forest. What green burial consumers do seem to share in common with price-conscious clients is a disdain for embalming. For the former however, this is not about saving money but because they find this procedure “invasive” and “unnecessary.” It’s also worth understanding that although there are now options for consumers to be embalmed with chemicals that are 100% and fully biodegradable, many green burial consumers would still prefer to avoid this mode of body preparation altogether. & Another interesting characteristic being observed is that many who are attracted to green burial define themselves as environmentalists.