Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) has released “Green Funeral Service Questions and Answers,” an informative document designed to enhance the understanding of funeral directors about what it means to be “green” in funeral service.

NFDA’s “Green Funeral Service Questions and Answers” offers definitions of a green funeral home, a green funeral, green burial and a green cemetery. It also addresses issues such as how a funeral director can facilitate a natural burial if there are no green cemeteries in his or her community; formaldehyde-free methods of preserving a body for viewing; ways to discuss green funeral options with consumers; and strategies for creating a green funeral home.

“Every week, reporters from newspapers, television and radio stations, and online news sources are writing about green funerals,” said James Olson, CPC, chair of the NFDA work group that developed the document. “Media coverage is driving consumer interest in green funeral and burial options. NFDA developed ‘Green Funeral Service Questions and Answers’ so that funeral directors can begin to understand this new frontier of funeral service. This document will help them answer consumer questions and determine how they may begin to offer ‘green’ services to the families they serve.”

According to the document, there are many “shades of green” possible when planning a green funeral, based on the consumer’s preferences, funeral home and cemetery capabilities, and local laws and regulations. The document reads, “As with the concept of ‘green’ in general, green in funeral service means practicing environmental consciousness and being eco-friendly. It encompasses green funeral homes, green funerals and natural or green burial. Any funeral home can be ‘green’ in practice. You have the opportunity to adopt green practices to meet the needs of the families you serve and to improve your business operations.”

Funeral directors can obtain the full document under the “Resources” section on NFDA’s Website. A consumer-friendly version is also available on NFDA’s Website.

“Green funerals are an emerging alternative to the funeral services we’re used to providing. This document is meant to be a starting point for helping funeral directors understand green funerals,” Olson noted. “Funeral directors may have questions about issues, such as public health issues and the environmental impact of green funerals, that we’ve not been able to address in this document. NFDA is researching these issues and will continue its efforts to educate funeral directors as new information becomes available.”

NFDA is the world’s leading funeral service association, serving 19,000 individual members who represent more than 10,200 funeral homes in the United States and internationally. From its headquarters in Brookfield, Wis., and its Advocacy office in Washington, D.C., NFDA informs, educates and advocates to help members enhance the quality of service they provide to families. For more information, visit the NFDA website.

Macon-Bibb County commissioners voted on November 4 to require a leak-proof casket or vault for all burials in the county, effectively killing a business and zoning proposal by Elizabeth Collins and James Wood. They had purchased 58 acres near Macon, and intended to create a 7,500 body green cemetery, but neighbors lobbied the commissioners for the law change. The land is still zoned for a cemetery, but the requirement for leak-proof burial containers runs counter to Collins’ ideals.

When I was still riding escorts, I had a habit of reading any trade journal I could get my hands on, just to earn more about the industry. Two or three years ago, one publication had a profile of a interesting cemetery. It allowed no monuments stones, metal caskets, or concrete vaults. You didn’t get a plot map, but a GPS fix for the grave. They didn’t have groundskeepers on staff; they had botanists. It was marketed more as a nature preserve than a cemetery.

That movement is continuing to grow. There are now a dozen certified “green” cemeteries across the country, and over 60 certified green funeral homes. There’s a book out about how families have done green burials. More funeral homes are starting to notice the movement, and so are more media outlets.

The Clarion-Ledger shares this story from the Indianapolis Star.