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Your Green Burial Planning Guide

Identify Your Environmental Aims
The ranking of these environmental benefits can be used to ensure your final arrangements are reflective of the environmental considerations most important to you. Environmental benefits that mean the most to me in order of importance are: (#1 most important, #4 least important)
 #         Conservation of natural resources
 #         Reduction of carbon emissions
 #         Protection of worker health
 #         Preservation/restoration of habitat
 
Identify Your Economic Aims
#          Forgo viewing
#          Eliminate the vault
#          Opportunity to put a second body in the grave
#          Simple casket or shroud
 
Identify Your Spiritual Aims
#          Family members at graveside to view 
#          Participation of family/friends, encouraging ritual
#          Creating an authentic religious experience 
#          Making a spiritual connection with nature, acknowledging the life cycle
 
Designate a Funeral Service Provider
My preference is to have my funeral coordinated by:
 
A funeral establishment belonging to the Green Burial Council’s network of approved providers prepared to conduct my green burial*
Contact information:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
 
A family member/friend whom I have chosen to handle my arrangements**
Contact information:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
 
Other (Explain relationship; if applicable, indicate location of your Designated Agent documentation)
Contact information:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
 
*If you have prearrangements with a funeral home that is not a part of the Green Burial Council list of approved providers, discuss your intentions with your funeral director to determine if they can meet your needs. The Green Burial Council is happy to assist the funeral home in understanding the procedures for facilitating a green burial.
 
** Please check to ensure that your state allows for a funeral to be facilitated without a licensed funeral director. As of 2012 the list of states that require families to use a licensed funeral director are as follows: CT, IA, IL, IN, LA, MI, NE, NJ, and NY.
 
How I Want My Body Prepared
I approve of the following practices/products to temporarily preserve my body after my death:
            Dry Ice
            Techni-ice or ice packs
            Refrigeration
            Topical application (i.e. sprays, compounds) using nontoxic, essential oils
            Topical application and/or internal injection (excluding arterial injection) using nontoxic, essential oils
            Topical application and/or internal injection (including arterial injection) using nontoxic, essential oils
 
Choosing My Burial Container
My preference is for one of the following GBC approved:
            Casket
            Shroud
            Urn

I wish to have my burial container obtained from:
            Other (Explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 
Designing My Funeral Service
My preference is for a:
            Private open casket funeral
            Private closed casket funeral
            Public open casket funeral
            Public closed casket funeral
            Public closed casket funeral with a private viewing of my body prior to the funeral
            Public closed casket funeral with a private viewing of my body after the funeral
            Other (Explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 
My preference is to have:
            A graveside funeral only 
            A funeral at my home
            A funeral at the funeral home handling my arrangements (identified above)
            A funeral at the following specified location:
            Other (Explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 
Where I Wish to Be Buried
            I have made arrangements for burial at                                                                                                  
Contact information                                                                                                                                          
            I have not made arrangements for burial at a cemetery 
            I would like to be buried on my property (at the location identified on the map attached to this document) and have verified with my local planning/zoning board that burial is allowed to take place on this property
Other (Explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
My contingency plan in case there are no green burial grounds in or near my community is to have my body transported to:
            A GBC approved burial ground within 1000 miles of my home
            A GBC approved burial ground within 500 miles of my home
            A GBC approved burial ground within 100 miles of my home
            Other (Explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 
Marking My Grave
I would like to have:*
            A tree as a marker
            No marker on top of my grave
            A rock as a marker
            My name listed on a central/memorial marker
            Wildflowers or native plants planted on top of my grave instead of a marker
            A rock as a marker engraved with the following words:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Other (Explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 
*Please be advised that these choices will not be available at all cemeteries. Please contact individual cemeteries to determine which options are available.
 
If I Choose Cremation
I would like to:
            Choose a cremation technology that leaves a lower carbon footprint
            Choose a cremation facility that recycles medical parts
            Offset the carbon emissions from cremation by making a donation in the amount of $_________ to the following carbon fund                                                                                                                 
            Choose to have my cremains go into a biodegradable urn
            Have my ashes given to                                                                                                                         
I request that they be committed in the following manner                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
Other (Explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                        
Signature                                              Date                                         Printed Name
 
 
Recommendations
This document was created to assist in the planning and facilitation of your green burial. It addresses the components of a green funeral/burial, and serves as a supplement to any other end-of-life planner you may be using. A full list of Green Burial Council approved funeral establishments, cemeteries, and product manufacturers can be found at: http://www.greenburialcouncil.org/finding-a-provider/
 
The GBC suggests that you email and/or give hard copies of this completed Planning Guide to a family member/friend, your next-of-kin, attorney, estate planner and the funeral home and/or cemetery with whom you have made your final arrangements, along with any other specific instructions you have made regarding your funeral/burial. If you need further help or have any questions, please email the Green Burial Council at info@greenburialcouncil.org or call 888-966-3330.
 
For detailed information about what constitutes a green burial, see the Green Burial Council publication Going Out Green: Four Ways to Ensure an Eco-Friendly Burial, available for download on the website www.greenburialcouncil.org
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Green Burial Council
2720 Cold Springs Road
Placerville, CA  95667
888-966-3330

info@greenburialcouncil.org

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©2022 Green Burial Council
  • Welcome
  • About
    • 2021 Annual Report
    • 2020 Annual Report
    • Mission, Vision, and Values
    • History
    • Boards of Directors >
      • Board Members
    • Staff Members
    • GBC Quick Facts
    • Leadership Award
  • Find GBC Providers
    • Interactive Maps
    • Cemeteries
    • Funeral Homes >
      • United States A—N
      • United States O—Z
      • Canada A–N
      • Canada O-Z
    • Product Providers
  • Certification
    • What is GBC Certification?
    • Our Standards
    • Become Certified
    • Provider Benefits and Pricing
    • Compliance Specialists
  • Education
    • Learn >
      • Green Burial Defined
      • FAQ >
        • Hybrid Cemeteries FAQ
        • Natural Burial FAQ
        • Conservation Burial FAQ
      • Starting a Green Cemetery
      • Potential Funding Sources
      • Green Funerals Course
      • Green Cemetery Course
      • Green Burial and Covid-19
      • Green Burial Glossary
      • Other Disposition Options
    • Multimedia >
      • GBC Publications
      • Photo Gallery
      • Articles Archive
    • Advocate >
      • Outreach Tools
      • Speakers Bureau
    • Research >
      • Academic Papers
      • Disposition Statistics
      • Green Cemetery Survey Results
    • Tell Your Story >
      • Blog
      • Green Burial Stories >
        • Bob Swift
        • Tom Bonk
        • Barbara Beye Lorie >
          • Text and Audiovisual
        • Scott
  • Events
    • GBC Conference Session Recordings
    • GBC Conference 2022 >
      • GBC Conference 2022 Agenda
      • 2022 Conference Recordings
      • 2022 Conference Sponsors and Exhibitors
    • GBC Conference 2021 >
      • 2021 Conference Recordings
      • 2021 Conference Sponsors
    • GBC Conference 2020 Recordings
    • Peer-to-Peer Forums >
      • Forums
      • Resources
    • What's Happening
  • Giving
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
    • Friend of the GBC
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Partner Organizations
    • Promotion and Mission Partner Application
    • Newsletters