Eco-friendly funerals: How to best organize them in France?

The funeral practices allowed in France (burial and cremation) provide few options for those who wish to have less environmentally impactful funerals. Many eco-friendly options have existed and emerged in recent years. We will summarize legal eco-friendly funeral practices in France and abroad.

What are the environmental impacts of funerals?

Traditional funeral practices have significant environmental repercussions:

• Embalming treatments performed on the deceased pollute the soil and groundwater. Indeed, one of the practices of embalming is to inject up to 10 liters of aseptic and sterilizing product into the deceased's body.

• The making of coffins requires hundreds of trees every year.

• The glue and metals of the coffin (handles, nails, etc.) placed in the ground decompose with difficulty and pollute the soil.

• Cremation emits large amounts of carbon and mercury.

• Cemetery grounds, often with a very mineral composition, are damaged by years of chemical weed control.

Eco-friendly funerals: what options are available in France?

Choosing cremation rather than burial

Cremation is a process increasingly chosen by the French people. It now represents one-third of funerals and is considered a more environmentally friendly practice.

In reality, both cremation and burial can have the same environmental footprint.

To reduce a body to ashes, up to 27 liters of gasoline are used, and mercury can be released if the deceased had dental fillings. According to ConsoGlobe, approximately 160 kg of CO2 is emitted into the air for each deceased person, and a coffin is required for both cremation and burial.

However, burial is still more polluting than cremation, particularly during the construction of a burial vault, the installation of a tombstone, or in the water consumed for cemetery maintenance.

Choosing a cardboard coffin for an eco-friendly funeral

In more and more funeral homes, it is possible to choose a cardboard coffin instead of a wooden coffin. They are made from recycled cardboard and natural corn and potato glue. A pattern or image can also be printed on them.

In addition to being eco-friendly, they are cost-effective: on average, five times cheaper than a traditional coffin.

For more details on cardboard coffins, consult our dedicated guide.

Choose a pesticide-free cemetery

Since 2017, a regulation requires municipalities to no longer use any pesticides in cemeteries (among other places). An increasing number of cities are therefore changing the appearance of their cemeteries, which are often very mineral, for a more natural landscape. For example, trees and shrubs are planted, and grass replaces gravel.

Use fewer embalming products

Embalming treatments are highly polluting to the soil and groundwater. Their use is sometimes excessive, often unnecessary, and can be limited.

At Advitam, we are committed to reducing the use of embalming products. Read about our ecological commitments.

Organize funerals online

By not going to a physical store, you limit the carbon footprint generated by your car.

In addition to this, we have implemented various eco-friendly measures:

• A memorial tree is planted in memory of the deceased for each family accompanied.

• We close the subscription accounts of the deceased to stop the multiple mailings of paper reminder letters or information.

• We cancel social networks to reduce the electrical consumption of computer servers that continue to needlessly host the deceased's digital data.

For more details on organizing funerals from abroad, consult our dedicated guide.

The biodegradable urn that turns into a tree

This urn offers a very simple system where a seed is planted above the ashes to take root. It can then be buried in the ground to grow naturally and provide a place of contemplation for the deceased's loved ones.

However, this practice is difficult to implement in France. The current law only allows this type of urn to be buried on private property, which involves many constraints.

An alternative project has been conceived by two Italians, where not just the deceased's ashes but their entire body is transformed into a tree, placed in a biodegradable capsule. This practice is currently prohibited in France.

However, there are other eco-friendly funeral practices beyond the French borders. For example, in Germany, cinerary forests are widespread throughout the country. They involve burying the urn at the base of a tree.

Plan your eco-friendly funeral

It is entirely possible to prepare your funeral by writing your last wishes. This document can be written alone or accompanied and should describe your final wishes.

To find out how to write and enforce your last wishes, refer to our dedicated guide.