Environmental Impact of Death Additional Resources
SevenPonds recommends the following resources to our clients who wish to learn more about the environmental impact of death.
Organizations and Certifying Bodies
Green Burial Council (GBC)
As the premier environmental certification organization for green burial in North America, the GBC sets rigorous standards for cemeteries, funeral homes, and product manufacturers, providing a trusted way for consumers to identify truly sustainable providers and making their online directory an essential planning tool.
Conservation Burial Alliance (CBA)
The Conservation Burial Alliance is a cooperative body dedicated to growing conservation burial as a tool for permanent land protection. The CBA connects practitioners and helps ensure that burial fees go directly toward the acquisition and management of protected land, making a death a powerful act of environmental philanthropy.
Larkspur Conservation
A leading example of a conservation burial site and a model for the movement, Larkspur combines natural burial with a conservation easement, ensuring the land is permanently protected and restored, while burial fees directly fund its stewardship.
Better Place Forests
Better Place Forests is a nonprofit offering an eco-friendly memorial service by scattering cremated remains in protected, old-growth forests. They offer a meaningful alternative for families, turning memorialization into an act of forest conservation and community connection.
Notable Advocates and Thought Leaders
Joe Sehee
As the founder of the Green Burial Council (GBC) in 2005, Sehee is the architect of the green burial movement in North America, creating the first certification standards to protect consumers and the environment. He continues to advise on creating conservation burial grounds, pushing for a future where deathcare actively restores the land.
Suzanne Kelly, PhD
A key intellectual of the movement, Kelly’s book Greening Death traces the philosophical and historical roots of the green burial movement. Her work powerfully challenges the damaging environmental myths of conventional burial and cremation, providing a deep, culturally critical foundation for anyone wanting to understand the “why” behind the shift to green deathcare.
John Christian Phifer
As the executive director of Larkspur Conservation and president of the Conservation Burial Alliance (CBA), Phifer is a leader in linking burial with permanent land preservation. With 15 years in the funeral industry, he transformed his focus to protect and steward land through conservation burial, ensuring a death can leave a legacy of protected wilderness.
Lee Webster
An internationally recognized writer and educator, Webster is a leading voice for grassroots funeral reform and home funerals. She has held major leadership positions across several organizations, including the Green Burial Council and Conservation Burial Alliance, and tirelessly educates the public on the right to care for their own dead with environmentally responsible practices.
Elizabeth Fournier
The owner of a green funeral home in Boring, Oregon, Elizabeth Fournier is a hands-on practitioner and advocate who has become one of the country’s most well-known voices for green and home-based burial. Her book and public appearances offer a practical, down-to-earth guide for anyone seeking to make their final arrangements as gentle on the planet as possible.
Darren Crouch
Recognized for his influence in climate leadership, Crouch advocates for educating the public about greener funeral options, including using biodegradable urns. His work challenges the sustainability of conventional practices and promotes returning cremated remains to the earth in an ecologically sound way.
Mark Shelvock, M.Ed., RP(Q)
A psychotherapist and lecturer, Shelvock brings a unique psychological perspective to green death practices, co-authoring papers on their importance. He reminds us that “how we die does lead to a substantial impact… on the earth itself,” bridging the gap between personal grief and global environmental awareness.
Books and Publications
Greening Death by Suzanne Kelly, PhD
This is a foundational text that traces the history and philosophy of the green burial movement. It exposes the myths that drive our damaging funeral practices and champions a return to a more ecological relationship with death.
The Green Reaper: A Memoir by Elizabeth Fournier
A practical and personal account from the owner of a green funeral home. Fournier demystifies eco-friendly funerals with humor and heart, showing how they are not only possible but can be a beautiful final gift to the planet.