Recently I came across this article from the website of 24/7 Wall Street about “Eco-friendly” funerals.  The article appears to be a public relations article on the website intended for readers to look at investment opportunities in the Death Care field.

What caught my eye, however, was a sub-title in the article that read “The green funeral market is gaining traction. . .“.  Under that highlight this is what the article said:

“According to Virtue Market Research, the green funeral service market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 11.6%. That’s some pretty respectable growth, to say the least. But I don’t expect the growth in green burials to peak anytime over the next two decades. Arguably, an inflection point could be hit at some point down the road, as calls for ESG-friendlier products and services grow louder while various firms become more willing to innovate.”

Amy Cunningham
Fitting Tribute Funerals

After I read that statement I phoned Amy Cunningham, a friend of mine, owner of Fitting Tribute Funeral Services, and known as the “Green Burial” expert of New York City.  During a short discussion with her she concurred that there is an increasing amount of discussion and questions from her consumers about “Green Burial” and other sustainable options for memorialization.  She also commented that she is getting a growing amount of phone calls from other funeral directors asking her advice on how to service “Green Burial” clients.

Ms. Cunningham made note that New York City is an unique location for Green Burials.  Cemetery space is somewhat at a premium and is very expensive.  She commented that many of her client families will choose interment in upstate New York although there is a cemetery in metropolitan Westchester County that has been very aggressive in courting the Green Burial clientele.  That cemetery is Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and you can learn more about them here.

Funeral Director Daily take:  It won’t happen overnight and I don’t think Green Burials will overtake traditional casketed/vault burials in cemeteries for two decades or more — if ever.  And, I don’t believe that the Green Burial movement will cut into the human disposition numbers of cremation, and alkaline hydrolysis at all.  However, I think it is fair to say that there will be an increasing number of Green Burials going forward.  I expect the growth to be a long steady climb — much like the cremation growth chart over the past 50 years.

I also think that there will be an increasing number of what many believe are sustainable choices in Death Care – alkaline hydrolysis and natural organic reduction (NOR) – going forward.  It will be interesting to find out what the actual percentages of each will be twenty years from now.  However, if we follow the concept of “Mention to Trend to Custom” it appears that the numbers of each of the sustainable methods will grow.

Much like improved technology by funeral homes is a growing desired feature of funeral homes by consumers, I also believe that “optionality” will be a growing factor in the choice of a funeral home in the future.  i.e the ability to offer all of these “options” to consumers will be a plus to your business and, on the flip-side, if you don’t offer some of these human disposition options, you may risk losing some clientele.

Here are some of the Death Care businesses that I am aware of who, in my opinion, are doing a very good job of offering this “optionality” already:

• Endswell Funeral Home— North Carolina
• Wildflower Funeral Concepts – Washington
• Interra Green Burial by Mueller Mortuary – Minnesota
• Fitting Tribute Funeral Services – New York

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