​Cemeteries 

The Green Burial Council completed a revision of its Cemetery Certification Standards in December of 2019. (The standards for hybrid, natural, and conservation cemeteries were last revised in 2015.) This revision focuses primarily on clarifying and improving standards for natural and conservation burial grounds, however some of the standards even for hybrid cemeteries have been moved to a Cemetery Best Practices document—that is, recommendations that are generally accepted as good operating policy or procedure.
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This 2020 cemetery revision:
  • Distinguishes between natural and conservation burial grounds standards
  • Reduces the total number of GBC Cemetery Certification Standards from twenty-one to sixteen
  • Creates GBC Best Practices 
  • Creates a grandfather clause for existing GBC-certified burial grounds
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The GBC would like to thank LANDMATTERS and the Conservation Burial Alliance for assistance, guidance, and recommendations in producing these comprehensive and important changes. For a complete description of the current information including GBC Cemetery Best Practices and GBC Cemetery Certification Standards, download this PDF. 

Cemetery Certification Standards

Cemetery Best Practices

Tips From the Pros on Operating a Successful Cemetery

Funeral Home Services

A GBC-approved funeral home must define in their general price list, and make reference to on any published website, their green offerings, which include the sanitation and temporary preservation of a decedent using only non-toxic, biodegradable chemicals, if any at all, or use basic cooling methods, and must include the option of a private visitation without chemical embalming. They must also:
  • Offer the decedent’s family the option of a public viewing without embalming, or use only GBC-approved post-mortem fluids.
  • Carry at least three GBC-approved or rated burial containers.
  • Accommodate families choosing to conduct home vigils prior to viewing on site without embalming, or use only GBC-approved post-mortem fluids.
  • Offer sanitation and temporary preservation of a decedent using only noninvasive techniques and materials.​

Products 

​To be eligible for evaluation, a product must meet the following criteria: All GBC-approved caskets, urns, and shrouds must be constructed from plant-derived, recycled plant-derived, natural, animal, or unfired earthen materials, including shell, liner, and adornments. Fasteners and handles (other than those made from brass or chrome) are excluded from this requirement. A product may not be approved if such hardware is deemed by the GBC as excessive or inefficiently used. Finishes, adhesives, and dyes do not release toxic by-products within the ground through expected processes of breakdown/disposal.

Green Burial Council Product Certification Standards​    Revised 2016

  1. Finishes do not release toxic by-products within the product manufacturing facility 
  2. Finishes do not contain plastics, acrylics, or similar synthetic polymeric materials.
  3. Adhesives do not release toxic by-products within the product manufacturing facility 
  4. Adhesives do not contain plastics, acrylics, or similar synthetic polymeric materials. 
  5. Shell is made primarily from reclaimed, recycled, or renewable materials as defined by the GBC 
  6. Shell is made primarily from a material which is biodegradable under burial conditions 
  7. Shell is made primarily from material harvested in an environmentally sustainable manner as certified by a third-party trust provider recognized by the GBC 
  8. Liner is made primarily from reclaimed, recycled, or renewable materials as defined by the GBC 
  9. Liner is made primarily from a material which is biodegradable under burial conditions 
  10. Liner is made primarily from material harvested in an environmentally sustainable manner as certified by a third-party trust provider recognized by the GBC 
  11. Fasteners and handles are made primarily from a material which is biodegradable under burial conditions 
  12. Fasteners and handles are made primarily from a material harvested in an environmentally sustainable manner as certified by a third-party trust provider recognized by the GBC 
  13. Green-house-gas emissions produced by transportation of any component material to manufacturing location have been offset through a recognized program 
  14. Green-house-gas emissions produced by transportation of final product to consumer location have been offset through a recognized program