Except for the interest in green burials, I have not seen too much talk in our industry about "green" business practices. Still, I would guess that some funeral homes (particularly in upscale and other socially aware neighborhoods) will have to adopt business practices which attempt to recognize our impact on the environment.
Follow the link to read about the growing trend among fine restaurants to stop serving bottled water. Instead, they have installed their own filtration and carbonation systems in order to eliminate the "environmental impact" of water bottles and the international shipping involved. This is not particularly good news for European companies which now ship to the United States.
New York Times: Fighting the Tide, a Few Restaurants Tilt Towards Tapwater
On the same webpage I also saw a Starbucks advertisement talking about how global warming has begun to impact their coffee growers. The ad takes you to this website http://www.planetgreengame.com/ . No doubt these issues continue to grow in the minds of retailers and consumers alike. We will need to find our own ways to address these consumer expectations of reducing our environmental impact.
What will our "green" trends need to be? For one, I wonder about retorts and whether the consumption of such large quatities of natural gas will become a problem down the road. High efficiency cremation anyone? No question that over time we will need to deal with the chemicals we use and discharge.
I think this would be a great topic for a round table discussion at an upcoming convention or meeting. Anyone interested? I plan to attend the NFDA Convention in the Fall. Maybe we can put together a little impromptu gathering out in Vegas. Leave a comment and let's see what we can come up with.
There is a green type of cremation. Coming soon, very soon.
Posted by: Mr. Green | June 25, 2007 at 04:50 PM