Greener Funerals with Green Caskets

This column originally appeared in the June, 2012 issue of Funeral Home and Cemetery News by Nomis Publications, Inc.


Greener Funerals with Green Caskets

Comparing caskets with carbon life cycle analysis.

Last month we discussed trends in green cemeteries in America.  Another popular topic in greening the funeral industry is green caskets.  Families seeking green alternatives often start with questions during casket selection.  In the last several years dozens of green alternatives for burial containers ranging from wood and paper caskets to cloth burial shrouds have surfaced in the market.  The green claims behind these products are as creative as the entrepreneurs marketing them.  This month we discuss carbon life cycle analysis as it applies to casket selection for a green funeral.

When comparing caskets and other creative burial containers it helps to consider three key activities that contribute to the carbon footprint of the product.  These activities include raw material extraction or production, manufacturing, and transportation.  We should consider the carbon impact, or carbon-dioxide equivalent (CO2e), for each of these three key activities in our attempt to objectively compare different green caskets and casket alternatives.

  

Before we talk about casket production, let us first illustrate the CO2e of familiar activities as we compare.  For example, burning a gallon of gasoline releases 22 lbs CO2e and a kilowatt hour of electricity produced from coal generates 2 lbs CO2e.  A typical 4-person family produces 50 tons of CO2e each year.  On the side of carbon sequestering, a typical leaf-bearing tree absorbs 1 ton of CO2 over its 100-year life.  An important observation on carbon impact and sequestration is the aspect of time.  A child learns with a weekly allowance that it takes time to save but any amount saved can be spent in no time at all.  Next, let's look at the carbon impact of raw materials, manufacturing, and transportation for different caskets.

Let us compare a green casket to a conventional 200-lb casket made from imported Chinese steel, manufactured in the US, and distributed in the Midwest.  I have not yet found a comprehensive carbon life cycle analysis on caskets, so we will use some comparisons.  Carbon life cycle analysis in the automotive industry estimates that manufacturing a 3600 lb sedan produces 18 tons CO2e, or 1000 lbs CO2e for every 100 lbs of sedan.  This includes producing raw materials like steel, fabric, plastic, metal hinges, handles, etc.  This estimate includes transporting raw materials and operating a manufacturing facility.  If we compare a sedan to a conventional steel casket with cloth interior, rubber seal, brass hinges and latch, and a painted "automotive" finish, the impact of manufacturing a steel casket, at 200 lbs, might be about 1 ton CO2e.  If we investigate more closely, we know that producing steel has a net impact of about 1/2 lb CO2e for each pound of steel--or 100 lbs CO2e for a 200-lb steel casket.  Significant research on the carbon impact of ocean cargo and freight trucking informs us that the impact of moving 200 lbs of freight from China to the Midwest is nearly 300 lbs CO2e!  With 400 lbs CO2e just to manufacture and transport the raw steel to the Midwest, our estimate to extract, produce, and transport raw materials, manufacture a steel casket, and transport to the US is probably reasonable at 1 ton CO2e for a single steel casket.

A popular category of green caskets are those woven from grasses such as willow, bamboo, and seagrass.  These grass crops are generally grown and harvested in cottage industries without the impact of industrialized equipment and manufacturing processes.  Most woven caskets are made by hand and thus have a very small carbon footprint.  At 50 lbs shipping weight woven caskets also benefit by reducing the carbon impact of transportation.  However, few of these products are made in the United States and most are imported from Indonesia, China, or Europe.  If shipped by ocean cargo to a US port and then via freight truck to the central US, the total impact of a 50 lb seagrass casket from Indonesia might be 150 lbs CO2e.  That same casket, however, shipped by air freight produces 2400 lbs CO2e--the air freight alone is more than the impact of 1 ton CO2e estimated for steel casket shipped from China by ocean liner.

A locally-made pine casket has a very small carbon impact.

Dozens of casket makers in the emerging US green market are building caskets from locally sourced and reclaimed woods.  The carbon impact to produce a board-foot of lumber varies by species and region and ranges from less than 1/2 lb CO2e for softwoods to just more than 1 lb CO2e for hardwoods.  Smaller caskets require 60 board-feet of pine while others may require 120 board-feet of hardwood making the material carbon impact range from 30 lbs CO2e for an eco-friendly pine casket to 120 lbs CO2e for a conventional oak or cherry casket.  The impact of manufacturing processes also varies widely and largely depends on the source of heat/electricity in the facility and the finishes applied to the casket.  An unfinished pine casket made in an eco-friendly facility may have as little as 20 lb CO2e whereas a commercial operation might be as high as 100 lbs CO2e for a similar product.  The greatest benefit of locally made caskets is reduced transportation.  A locally delivered casket with a light commercial truck averaging a 500 mile trip produces 15 lbs of CO2e by sharing the load with other deliveries.  The same light truck on a dedicated 100-mile trip would contribute far more--as much as 200 lbs CO2e for the round-trip.  The total impact of a locally made wood casket ranges from as little as 50 lbs CO2e but up to 250 lbs CO2e depending on the wood used, manufacturing processes, distance traveled, and method of final delivery.

In each of these example scenarios we see that transportation can be the largest factor in the carbon impact of green casket alternatives to a steel casket.  For the steel casket, due to great efficiency in ocean cargo, the dominating factor is the impact of the steel production and casket manufacturing processes.  Let's summarize the comparison of green caskets to a domestically manufactured steel casket from imported Chinese steel at 1 ton CO2e.  A woven casket shipped by ocean cargo compares at roughly 150 lbs--more than 90% less CO2e than a steel casket.  However, the same woven casket shipped by air freight exceeds 2400 lbs CO2e which is 20% more than the steel casket!  An eco-conscious casket maker using local sustainable pine compares at 50 lbs CO2e when being conservative with transportation.  A locally made pine casket may have the smallest carbon footprint comparing at 98% less impact than a steel casket and 1/3 the impact of a woven casket.  But again, if shipped single-unit on a light truck for 200 miles round-trip, the impact of the same pine casket may be as much as or exceed the 150 lbs CO2e estimated for an imported woven casket.

So what do I recommend as the "greenest" alternative in caskets?  Buy Local.  Drive Less.  And get to know your supplier by asking lots of questions.

Sheboygan Plants 700 trees in Maywood Park

We were in the news again with our donation to the Sheboygan Parks and Forestry Department this spring.  On Saturday, May 5th, volunteers planted 700 trees in Maywood Park in Sheboygan as part of the annual Join Hands Day in the park.

"About half the trees were donated by Walmart. The rest were purchased from Sheboygan County's annual tree sale with donations from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Northwoods Casket Co. in Beaver Dam and its local partner, Lippert-Olson Funeral Home.

Northwoods Casket has also funded a reforestation project with the state Department of Natural Resources in the Kettle Moraine State Forest Northern Unit in Sheboygan County.  Patricia Murphy, the regional forestry supervisor, said in a press release that "Northwoods Casket's funding will help plant approximately 10,000 seedlings, or about 10 acres, and will be part of a larger reforestation project scheduled in the state forest this spring."

The entire article can be found at the Sheboygan Press.

Green Cemetery Trends In America

This column originally appeared in the May, 2012 issue of Funeral Home and Cemetery News by Nomis Publications, Inc.

Green Cemetery Trends in America
What's really happening with America's green cemeteries?

Since 2009 the death care industry in America has been witness to a flurry of activity on green burial.  National news stories follow a formula often leading with a cliche regarding death, burial, and getting back to nature followed by an explanation of green (or natural) burial.  These news articles typically quote Joe Sehee from the Green Burial Council or James Olson from the NFDA and then cite statistics on the volumes of hardwoods, steel, and concrete buried each year in America's cemeteries.  Many of these articles include a quote from Grave Matters, by Mark Harris.  Every news story uses statistics to demonstrate growing public interest in green burial including the 2007 AARP pole indicating 21% of respondents were curious about or considering green burial and the 2008 Kates-Boylston survey finding 43% of respondents would consider a green burial.

A quick analysis of Google search trends on keywords like "green cemetery" shows significant growth in searches since 2009.  With almost no searches prior to 2008, we see growing interest in the United Kingdom in 2009 and 2010.  However, the United States search trend shows almost no search activity until 2011 and then significant upswing to nearly 10 times average search volume in 2011.  

Over the last three years I have observed that approximately one-third of all news stories on green cemeteries and green burial are special interest pieces by national news outlets. The majority of news stories on green burial originate from local TV and newspaper media announcing the planning of, or opening of, a green cemetery or a recent green burial at a local cemetery.  Many dozens of existing municipal, religious, and private cemeteries have opened new sections of property dedicated to varying "shades of green" burial services.  There is also the rapidly growing number of new cemeteries entirely committed to green burial.

The Green Burial Council (GBC) describes three tiers of green to include burial grounds that are Hybrid, Natural, or Conservation.  A fourth, and perhaps lightest shade of green may include the Traditional cemetery without strict vault or casket requirements.  One example is the municipal cemetery in my hometown of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.  John Neumann, caretaker, explains the city has no strict requirements on the use of a burial vault or containers so a green burial would be accepted.  The GBC uses many criteria to certify a green cemetery including the cemetery's policies on burial vaults, caskets or shrouds, embalming, use of chemicals in lawn care, grave opening/closing techniques, and land status.  Land status must guarantee adherence to green practices through deed restriction, conservation easement, or other irrevocable legally binding agreement in perpetuity.  Conservation burial grounds are those that can demonstrate a legally binding responsibility for perpetual stewardship of the land.  There are only a few green cemeteries in the U.S. that have achieved the highest rating of a conservation burial ground as defined by the GBC.

There isn't a lot of data on the adoption of green burial in America.  I can, however, share several anecdotes and observations from green cemeteries that help tell the story of adoption of green burial in America.  The Friends South Western Burial Ground established in 1861 borders West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  This cemetery, home to roughly 4000 grave sites, is the final resting place for Quakers (and others) seeking a simple "environmentally aware" burial.  Graham Garner, warden/manager of the 17 acre site tells us that while they have not actively promoted green burials, they have had five such burial requests already--a significant number because sometimes a year will go by with no burials.  Two families used simple caskets made from particle board, and three used cloth burial shrouds.  Graham explains they do not have vault or casket requirements, but they do have some restrictions on headstones.

A very new burial ground by contrast is the Natural Path Sanctuary that opened June, 2011 in Verona, Wisconsin.  Kevin Corrado, coordinator for the sanctuary, explains that while they prefer shrouded burials they will accept caskets made from "unfinished non-precious woods" and free of non-biodegradable materials.  Conventional practices including burial vaults, embalming, and grave markers are not allowed  All graves in the wooded sanctuary are dug and closed by hand.  There have been four burials since August of last year including one infant and one placement of cremated remains.  Earlier last month a family dug a grave for a family member who is terminally ill.

In March, the Catholic Sentinel reported that Mount Calvary in Portland, Oregon is the second Catholic cemetery in the nation to offer a dedicated area of the cemetery for green burial.  Tim Corbett, superintendent of Catholic cemeteries for the Archdiocese of Portland, explains that he first started hearing about green burial five years ago.  He views this movement as a way for people to leave a natural legacy adding that if everyone opted for a green burial, he'd have 500 acres of endowed forest.

I've spoken with more than a dozen green cemeteries that have opened since 2008 and have had more green burials in the last year than in the three years prior to 2011.  The Green Burial Council (greenburialcouncil.org) and the Centre for Natural Burial (http://naturalburial.coop/) each list about 30 green burial sites in the U.S.  If we include all of the family-owned, municipal, and church operated cemeteries that allow green burial options there may already be more than 200 cemeteries in the U.S. where people can opt for a greener burial.  Trend or fad, I'm optimistic that awareness on green burial is growing, more options are becoming available, and that our industry is changing for the better when it comes to protecting our natural habitat.