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The ICCM Journal | Spring 2022 | V90 No. 1
ten practical ways to green-up for cemeteries and crematoria In a time of accelerating climate change, it is vital for all of us to find ways to reduce the environmental impact of our operations. "We are at a unique stage in our history. Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that.”
Sir David Attenborough
The bereavement sector is, understandably, conservative and traditional. However, many of those traditions developed through times when burning fossil fuels was not known to be an issue. But now we must make changes. Here are ten practical ways to green-up operations: 1. Go paperless It’s not just that we cut down trees to make paper, it’s the carbon impact of processing, warehousing, retailing, and delivering all that paper to your office. Add on the miles travelled by the letters you write, and yet more miles and energy go into recycling the piles of waste paper we generate. Instead, put information online, where it’s instantly accessible and searchable. Update your forms so that arrangements can all be made online and take payments by card or BACS to avoid trips to the bank with cheques and cash. Save trees while saving on office equipment costs, save time by being more efficient, save space, and save all those travel miles. 2. Invest in renewable energy We have to end our addiction to fossil fuels. Recent instability in the global supply of gas has highlighted the vulnerabilities of gas users. Renewable electricity is the future, especially where power can be generated on-site, so it's a good idea to get on board now and reap the green benefits. Switch suppliers to those that supply green energy. Change your website hosts to one that is powered by renewable, green energy. Plan to replace ageing gas-fired equipment with efficient electric models. Evaluate electrically powered groundworks machinery. In fact, identify all opportunities to invest in more energy-efficient, less polluting kit, from light bulbs upwards. 3. Operate plant and equipment at optimum efficiency Reduce warming-up cycles and plan batch cremations to achieve optimisation. Use smart technology to time peak energy consumption with troughs in demand, reducing energy bills and levelling out demand. Consider digging graves in batches to optimise the use of machinery on-site and to minimise travel miles. This might mean investing in extra sets of shoring, lids and soil boxes. 4. Cut down on waste By embracing paperless processes, you will have started down this path already. But look at other ways to reduce waste. Require funeral directors to label, collect and return plastic frames, trays and Oasis so that florists can reuse them in floral arrangements. Find ways to collect and use waste heat from the incineration process. One possibility might be to heat greenhouses to grow flowers on-site throughout the year - more on flowers later. More radically, instead of burning highly decorative coffin after coffin, resurrect the old idea of reusable, decorative coffin covers. With minimal fuss, it should be possible to coordinate
