Green Burial Council Certification: What It Means and How to Verify a Cemetery

Why Certification Matters

Any cemetery can call itself "green" in its marketing materials. There is no law preventing it. Some facilities that use the word "green" still require concrete grave liners, allow non-biodegradable decorations, or continue standard turf management with synthetic herbicides.

The Green Burial Council (GBC) exists to separate genuine green burial facilities from greenwashed marketing. Its certification is the only widely recognised standard in the United States, and its Canadian counterpart — the Green Burial Society of Canada (GBSC) — applies similar criteria.

Three Certification Levels

The GBC certifies cemeteries at three progressively stricter levels:

Hybrid Cemetery. A section within a conventional cemetery dedicated to green burials. Concrete vaults and grave liners are prohibited in the green section. Containers must be 100% biodegradable — wicker, bamboo, raw wood, or shroud. Markers are restricted to flat natural stone or bronze plaques flush with the ground. Standard turf mowing continues. This is the entry point — a conventional cemetery can achieve Hybrid status by carving out a dedicated natural section.

Natural Cemetery. The entire facility is dedicated to natural burial. Vaults and liners are completely prohibited. Only shrouds or natural fibre caskets are allowed. No headstones — graves are marked with small, flat natural stones or tracked by GPS coordinates only. The cemetery must operate under a formal ecological impact assessment and manage the land specifically for natural habitat.

Conservation Cemetery. The strictest designation. The cemetery sits on a legally protected conservation easement, meaning the land can never be developed or repurposed. No physical markers are allowed — graves are tracked exclusively by GPS. Burial fees directly fund native habitat restoration, wildlife corridor maintenance, and ecological stewardship. This is the gold standard for families who want their burial to actively contribute to land conservation.

How to Verify Certification

Check the GBC directory. The Green Burial Council maintains a searchable online directory of all certified providers. If a cemetery claims GBC certification but does not appear in the directory, ask to see their current certificate — certification can lapse if annual audits are not maintained.

Ask for the specific level. "GBC certified" alone does not tell you much. A Hybrid cemetery operates very differently from a Conservation cemetery. Ask which level they hold and what specific restrictions apply.

In Canada, check the Green Burial Society of Canada's approved provider list. Their criteria align closely with GBC standards but are adapted to Canadian provincial law.

In the UK, the Natural Death Centre maintains a directory of natural burial grounds. The UK does not use the GBC system, but NDC-listed sites follow broadly similar ecological principles.

What Certification Does Not Cover

GBC certification applies to the cemetery, not to the funeral home or transport provider. A GBC-certified cemetery will enforce biodegradable container rules and prohibit embalming chemicals on its grounds, but the funeral director you hire to prepare and transport the body may still push conventional embalming, metal caskets, or bundled packages.

The FTC Funeral Rule gives you the right to decline any service you do not want, purchase third-party containers (the funeral home must accept them without surcharge), and receive an itemised price list. These rights exist regardless of which cemetery you choose.

For Memorial Tree Plantings

If you plan to plant a memorial tree with or without cremation ashes, the cemetery's certification level determines what is possible:

• Conservation cemeteries often include native tree planting as part of the burial itself, with ongoing arborist management
• Natural cemeteries may allow tree plantings but have specific species requirements (natives only) and location restrictions
• Hybrid cemeteries may or may not permit tree plantings in their green section — ask before purchasing a plot

For private land plantings, cemetery certification is irrelevant — but the soil science and species selection still matter. The Tree Pod / Living Memorial Guide covers both cemetery-based and private-land memorial tree planning, including a cemetery evaluation worksheet to compare facilities before committing.