Our Standards
- Offer the decedent’s family the option of a public viewing without embalming, or use only GBC-approved post-mortem fluids.
- Carry at least three GBC-approved or rated burial containers.
- Accommodate families choosing to conduct home vigils prior to viewing on site without embalming, or use only GBC-approved post-mortem fluids.
- Offer sanitation and temporary preservation of a decedent using only noninvasive techniques and materials.
To be considered for certification, a body care product must: make the full ingredient list publicly available and easily accessible; contain minimal PBT (persistent, bioaccumulating, toxic) chemicals; and contain minimal CMR (carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic) chemicals.
Products which meet the above minimum requirements are then evaluated across 3 criteria to determine what level of certification they will receive:
- Product does not contain any ingredients included in the CDC’s list of carcinogenic and reprotoxic chemicals
- Product does not contain any ingredients included in the EPA’s list of PBT (persistent, bioaccumulating, toxic) chemicals
- Product is entirely made with ingredients on the FDA’s list of GRAS (generally recognized as safe) chemicals
- Finishes do not release toxic by-products within the product manufacturing facility
- Finishes do not contain plastics, acrylics, or similar synthetic polymeric materials.
- Adhesives do not release toxic by-products within the product manufacturing facility
- Adhesives do not contain plastics, acrylics, or similar synthetic polymeric materials.
- Shell is made primarily from reclaimed, recycled, or renewable materials as defined by the GBC
- Shell is made primarily from a material which is biodegradable under burial conditions
- Shell is made primarily from material harvested in an environmentally sustainable manner as certified by a third-party trust provider recognized by the GBC
- Liner is made primarily from reclaimed, recycled, or renewable materials as defined by the GBC
- Liner is made primarily from a material which is biodegradable under burial conditions
- Liner is made primarily from material harvested in an environmentally sustainable manner as certified by a third-party trust provider recognized by the GBC
- Fasteners and handles are made primarily from a material which is biodegradable under burial conditions
- Fasteners and handles are made primarily from a material harvested in an environmentally sustainable manner as certified by a third-party trust provider recognized by the GBC
- Green-house-gas emissions produced by transportation of any component material to manufacturing location have been offset through a recognized program
- Green-house-gas emissions produced by transportation of final product to consumer location have been offset through a recognized program
The Green Burial Council completed a revision of its Cemetery Certification Standards in December of 2019. (The standards for hybrid, natural, and conservation cemeteries were last revised in 2015.) This revision focuses primarily on clarifying and improving standards for natural and conservation burial grounds, however some of the standards even for hybrid cemeteries have been moved to a Cemetery Best Practices document—that is, recommendations that are generally accepted as good operating policy or procedure.
This cemetery revision:
The GBC would like to thank LANDMATTERS and the Conservation Burial Alliance for assistance, guidance, and recommendations in producing these comprehensive and important changes. .
This cemetery revision:
- Distinguishes between natural and conservation burial grounds standards
- Reduces the total number of GBC Cemetery Certification Standards from twenty-one to sixteen
- Creates GBC Best Practices
- Creates a legacy clause for existing GBC-certified burial grounds
The GBC would like to thank LANDMATTERS and the Conservation Burial Alliance for assistance, guidance, and recommendations in producing these comprehensive and important changes. .
To download these standards, go toCemetery Standards Downloads
