“How could I look my grandchildren in the eye and say I knew what was happening to the world and did nothing.”
The Greener Globe Funeral Standard was created by husband and wife Brendan and Carolyn. They have always loved the countryside and appreciated nature, and since the birth of their granddaughters, have been even more passionate about preserving the planet for their future.
Brendan is a second generation cemetery and crematorium manager who began 40 years ago when industrial pesticides and herbicides were commonly used, whilst cremation was polluting and inefficiently using fossil fuels. Throughout his career, Brendan has been influential in introducing environmental improvements. He submitted his MBA Dissertation to Birmingham University on ‘The impact of the Environmental Protection Act on Cremation in the United Kingdom’. He was one of the pioneers to introduce wildlife and heritage trails and woodland burial in the 1990’s. He has helped Bereavement Services transition away from the use of industrial chemicals, led on the installation of filtration and energy efficient cremators whilst developing a national burden sharing scheme to enable crematoria to support each other in the removal of mercury from emissions.
Carolyn worked in a commercial insurance brokers for 30 years. She nurtured relationships with the businesses she looked after to gain a greater understanding of how individual businesses operated and better meet their insurance needs. Regulation in Financial Services greatly increased, however guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority could often seem complex and intended for larger corporations. Carolyn rose to the challenge by cutting through the official jargon to deliver compliance better suited to a smaller business. Since finishing in insurance, Carolyn successfully completed the ISO 14001:2015 Internal Auditor Course to transfer her skills to supporting funeral directors, sector suppliers and crematoria on their environmental journey. Carolyn is keen to ensure that no one within the funeral sector should get left behind as they transition to more sustainable ways of working.
Protecting the environment whilst serving the bereaved
“No one person or organisation or government policy will solve the issue of the climate emergency….You know your businesses better than anyone so it’s imperative ….(you) create bespoke practical plans to ensure the continued sustainability and success of your sector.”
Environment Agency Director of Regulated Industry
Supporting the environment should not have to be scary, difficult, or costly. It should simply be part and parcel of the way a funeral business goes about delivering their everyday services. If every funeral business starts by making a small contribution, together they will produce a massive benefit for the environment.
Brendan and Carolyn have combined their knowledge to produce bespoke pragmatic sustainability audits for the different sections of the funeral sector.. With the support of an ISO14001 Lead Auditor, Gaynor Williams, and talented graphic designer, Jeff Lewis, they have created a scheme which enables funeral directors, their suppliers and crematoria to quickly examine all parts of their business to identify the areas which are already sustainable and those where further work is required.
The Greener Globe Funeral Standard has been developed to guide and support everyone in the funeral sector continually improve and review their impact on the environment and show clients through genuine third-party certification that they care about leaving a positive legacy for future generations.