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The ICCM Journal | Summer 2022 | V90 No. 2
‘the impact of burial and cremation on the environment’ Joint Organisers Seminar in Review On the 30th of March 2022, around 100 delegates and exhibitors converged on the Stratford Manor Hotel in StratfordUpon-Avon to attend the latest seminar provided by the joint burial and cremation organisations - the Association of Private Crematoria and Cemeteries (APCC), the Cremation Society of Great Britain (CSGB), The Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA) and the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM). For ourselves and many others in attendance, this marked the first major coming together of all of the forementioned organisations’ members and associates in over two years. In the hours leading up to the event, and for those arriving at the venue late into the previous evening, you could sense that there was an atmosphere of excitement and camaraderie as more and more familiar, as well as newer sector faces began to assemble in order to learn and improve their own understanding of the topics to be discussed. Unlike any other previous occasion, you could almost see the relief on people’s faces that this seemed to be a step in the right direction towards ‘normality’ given the nature of the previous two years within the sector. The Seminar’s overarching title of ‘The Impact of Burial and Cremation on the Environment’ promised a diverse range of speakers and topics, from the manufacturers and representatives of both gas and electric cremators, alkaline hydrolysis (otherwise known as Resomation or water cremation) and Precision Organic Dispersal, through to practical ways of reducing environmental impact currently and historically via alternative operational procedures and the advent of electrification for traditional grounds maintenance equipment. Finally, a snapshot of historical and future environmental considerations was to be provided by speakers from the gas cremation industry and Environmental Stewardship Group respectively, which understandably piqued the interest of many in attendance. Once all delegates had arrived and settled in, Dr Hilary Grainger of the CSGB extended a warm welcome to all. Unfortunately, the first speaker of the day, Simon Holbrook representing the Environment Agency and Defra, had been affected by COVID just days before the seminar and as such, his update report on the Crematoria Guidance Review was unavailable this time around. Undeterred, chair of the first session of the day, ICCM President Heather White, invited Jon Cross from the Environmental Stewardship Group to present his paper, ‘The Bereavement Sector and Climate Change’. Jon’s paper, with the strapline ‘Climate Change, our Legacy’, presented findings from the Environmental Stewardship Group (ESG), whose constitution provide over 350 years of collected knowledge within the bereavement services sector. Jon shared that whilst around 95% of Local Authorities have declared a climate emergency within their Councils, there remains a significant gap in where cemetery and crematoria are not included in any environmental declaration. Jon further explained the role of the ESG, the issues that they are focusing on and the how and whys along the road to improvement which are a collective responsibility. In a poignant statement, Jon surmised that ‘Offsetting emissions should be the last mile journey’ in such
