I had the opportunity to attend the “Going Green Symposium” at the ICCFA Annual Convention in San Diego. It featured Darren Crouch of Passages International Inc. and www.EarthUrn.com; Joe Sehee of the Green Burial Council, Tim Rivera of Rivera-Hanlon Funeral Home, and Michael Kelley of KZF Design.
This 2.5 hour session was very enlightening about Green Issues and Funeral Service. What I hope is that funeral directors and cemeterians look at the “Green Movement” as an opportunity to further serve their client families and not as a threat – we didn’t embrace cremation in the beginning, let’s not make the same mistake again.
I have been studying the topic of GREENING FUNERAL SERVICE closely and to start I want to point out that there are varying shades of green. It is not “All Green” or “No Green” – funeral homes and cemeteries can slowly incorporate GREEN into their operations. From the outset, there seems to be three areas of focus.
- Green Operations: from an operational and building standpoint, how well are you doing your part for the environment – terms that you will be exposed to “Carbon Footprint” and “LEED” – this is what Michael Kelley spoke on
- Green Service Options and Green Products: from using non-formaldehyde embalming solutions to using refrigeration or dry ice; allowing families more participation with the body and with the service – some of which you already offer – can be seen as green options; environmentally friendly products that are made from renewable resources and are biodegradable – this is what Darren Crouch talked about
- Green Burial: this is not an exclusive option and it should be considered an acceptable choice meaning that types of disposition available are cremation, entombment, green burial, and interment – this is what Tim Rivera and Joe Sehee shared
One thing that was evident was that Joe Sehee and the Green Burial Council are not evil – they are reaching out to the funeral industry and want to educate and partner with willing firms that want to embrace green burial as an alternative – not necessarily a replacement to traditional disposition. Sehee and Rivera have worked closely together in New Mexico and serves as an example of proactive funeral director / cemeterian exploring new options for his client families.
I had the chance to interview Joe Sehee for Funeral Gurus:
NOTE: Another thing that was chiming from the Rivera – Sehee joint presentation was that GREEN DOES NOT NECESSARILY EQUAL CHEAP!
This session – The Going Green Symposium – created by the ICCFA was very educational and enlightening (don’t worry, as my personal choice, I still want traditional burial at Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria). Linda from ICCFA mentioned that they recorded the session and will make it available for purchase – I feel that it will serve as a great introductory course – Going Green 101.
This list is nowhere complete and nor am I an expert in Going Green. I will though continue to disseminate information to the funeral profession so that you can be more informed and be proactive in being able to serve your families who want these options – because if you don’t, your current (or new) competitor will!
About Robin Heppell
Over the past 20 years of my career within this industry I have been fortunate to gather experience as a vender, management within a conglomerate and now the ownership side, the one thing I have learned, is to not discount or overlook the baby boomer cohort group. They have literally changed the face of everything from the childbirth to death. Today, it is not uncommon for childbirth to be family participative event or even a home birth with a mid-wife. Prior to the early late 70′s and early 80 ‘s that was unheard of. Once again – boomers are making decisions – end of life decisions. Not only are they making choices for themself – many are making them for their parents. While they may honor their parents funeral request of a traditional burial, that seems to clarify for them that their funeral will NOT resemble their parents. In short, they are unsure of what they want, however they are clear on what they don’t want. This is where “green” comes in. Green can mean anything from an environmentally “clean” cremation with scattering to follow, to an all natural burial in a certified “green” cemetery. Boomers are very interested in preserving the planet. Boomers love to be educated. If enough education can be made available about “green” end of life disposition offerings,
I’m pretty confident that a solid segment of our generation will participate. As a business owner and a supporter personally and professionally of the “green” movement – my personal opinion and recommendation is to not over look this up and coming trend. Use it to differentiate yourself from your competitor and begin to educate….the money will follow.
The conservation or green “movement” is more an opportunity than a threat to funeral service. Consumers, who want to more actively participate in the rituals and ceremonies surrounding a death, simply do not know how or exactly what is possible for them to do.
Since the mid-nineteenth century, people have relied on cemeterians and funeral service professionals to assist them in dealing with death and the dead. Why would this be any different today?
While there may be a segment of consumers interested in saving money, as we experienced early on with cremation, it is likely we will find the real interest in green movement is not at all related to cost. Green funerals and burials satisfy a desire to more actively connect with, share, and even create new memories of loved ones. Some believe more active participation is even more respectful because of personal involvement.
Funeral and cemetery professionals have an extraordinary opportunity to truly serve by embracing the green movement. Also, it is likely those, who learn to serve well this new consumer, will discover new ways to better serve their traditional families.