Green Burial Council

Green Burial Council
Approved Standards and Practices for a
Conservation Burial Ground

The Council recognizes two categories of "green" cemeteries; one for a "Conservation Burial Ground" and another for a "Natural Burial Ground."  A "Conservation Burial Ground" is a cemetery that encourages sustainable and ethical practices and maximizes the potential of the burial process to facilitate ecological restoration and landscape-level conservation.  A Conservation Burial Ground must always involve an established conservation organization as a long-term steward.  
  1. Land criteria. A Conservation Burial Ground must:
    1. be contiguous to, or in a position to augment the conservation goals of a park, wildlife corridor, critical habitat area, permanently protected open space, or be large enough on its own to be considered a landscape-level conservation effort
    2. operate only in areas of the property where burial would not degrade the land and the surrounding landscape
    3. be owned by or protected with a conservation easement held by a government agency and/or by a nonprofit conservation organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity and in business for at least five years. The easement must conform to all provisions of the Internal Revenue Code Section 170(h) and provide for public access to and through the site, particularly to connect it to adjoining protected open space, to the extent public use of the property is compatible with ecological goals; and.
  2. Start-up criteria. A Conservation Burial Ground must:
    1. conduct a biological evaluation (at sites with or adjacent to land with known or suspected rare, threatened or endangered plant or animal species) so that burial will not harm plant and animal life
    2. conduct a geological evaluation (at sites with the potential for soil, hydrology, or erosion issues) so that burial will not degrade the land
    3. develop a plan for limiting visitation to sensitive areas as well as policies for families who choose "back-country" or off trail burial; and
    4. compile an acceptable plant list (at sites where revegetation is an issue) for every area or "zone" of the property where burial will take place.
  3. Operations and management criteria. A Conservation Burial Ground must:
    1. develop a plan for using native plants and for rescuing locally rare plants
    2. develop a plan for dealing with unauthorized grave decoration and "freelance" landscaping
    3. develop a "systems and operations" manual to be given to all staff members, contractors, and volunteers; and
    4. establish an endowment fund to ensure the long term maintenance of the land and its trail system by setting aside at least 4% of the cost of burial.
  4. Burial criteria.
    1. No toxic chemicals are to be used in the bodies of decedents (except when embalming has been done against decedents wishes.)
    2. No vaults are to be used on premises.
    3. Burial containers or shrouds must be made of biodegradable materials.
    4. Excavation and burial techniques/technology must minimize impacts on surrounding land, and protect native plant diversity.
    5. Burial site must be documented before burial and after re-vegetation.
  5. Customer relations criteria.
    1. Clients and families must be given the opportunity to be involved with the burial and ritual process so long as participation does not conflict with state law or with these protocols in form or substance.
    2. Information that might be misleading or is factually incorrect must never be given by representatives of the cemetery to members of the media or to the general public.
  6. Criteria for a Conservation Burial Ground with a funeral home on premises. A funeral home that operates on the premises of a Conservation Burial Ground must also be approved by the Green Burial Council. Click here to see "Standards for a Funeral Home on a Conservation Burial Ground."