The Green Burial Society of Canada (GBSC) is the national organization dedicated to setting standards, certifying providers, and advancing environmentally responsible death care across Canada.

We work with cemeteries, funeral service providers, and communities to ensure green burial practices are transparent, ethical, and truly sustainable.

What We Do

• Set national green burial standards
• Certify providers across Canada
• Educate families and communities
• Prevent greenwashing in the industry

Why Certification Matters

Not all “green burial” claims are equal. GBSC certification ensures providers meet rigorous environmental and ethical standards, giving families confidence and clarity in their choices.

In 2013, the Green Burial Society of Canada (GBSC) was founded by a small but passionate group of people working to make environmentally responsible, culturally meaningful death care options available to all Canadians.

The roots of the GBSC go back to the early 2000s, when Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria, BC began receiving calls from people asking about “green” or “natural” burial. Interest grew quickly, and it was soon clear that there was demand for natural burial—and for an independent society dedicated to providing credible information about green burial and green funeral services.

Then, as today, Canadians are keen to know more about green/natural burial. They want to learn about this respectful, traditional way of caring for the dead, a way that imposes the least possible environmental impacts and with the potential to deliver a range of positive environmental benefits over time. Canadians also want to find out how to make green burial available in their communities. Filling these needs remains our core purpose as we enter our second decade.

• Advocate for the adoption of environmentally responsible and ecologically sustainable interment and funeral services in communities across Canada.
•  Assist organizations, businesses, individuals, and governments across Canada to adapt and implement green burial standards and best practices for the provision of environmentally responsible, ecologically sensitive death care practices in their community.
•  Establish standards and best practices that recognize cemetery and funeral service businesses in Canada who commit to providing their goods and services in accordance with the standards, goals, and objectives of the GBSC.
• Promote at every opportunity, the values, goals, and objectives of the GBSC throughout Canada and, with other like-minded organizations; foster the mutual exchange of ideas and discussions in the advancement of green burial
• Work in collaboration with local, provincial, territorial, and international green burial organizations, as well as like-minded organizations that support and seek to advance environmentally based death care practices.