Green Burial Council

What Green Burial Council does

Green Burial Council (GBC) is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization headquartered in Folsom, California, that operates as the primary North American certification body for environmentally sustainable burial practices. GBC certifies cemeteries under a three-tier framework — Hybrid, Natural, and Conservation — along with funeral homes and burial products (caskets, shrouds, urns, and body care items such as formaldehyde-free embalming fluids), verifying compliance with standards that prohibit toxic embalming, vaults, and non-biodegradable materials.

The organization's product surface centers on the GBC Provider Certification program paired with consumer-facing interactive provider maps covering cemeteries, funeral homes, and certified products. The underlying technology is a standards-based certification framework and document/policy verification process, distributed through a website that attracts over 10,000 monthly page views and a newsletter reaching 5,000+ recipients. GBC also operates webinars, an annual conference, academic research publications, and a media library to educate providers and consumers.

GBC's revenue model relies on annual, quote-based certification fees paid by cemeteries, funeral homes, and product manufacturers seeking the GBC mark, supplemented by donations and volunteer support. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The certified ecosystem spans 95+ cemetery locations and 183+ funeral home locations across the USA, Canada, and Guatemala. The business is operationally lean — volunteer-led with no disclosed paid headcount — and serves primarily small-to-mid independent providers, with consumer-facing tools driving indirect distribution through the network of certified providers.

Name

Green Burial Council

Legal name

Green Burial Council

Website

https://greenburialcouncil.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Green Burial Council is a volunteer-led nonprofit that certifies cemeteries, funeral homes, and burial products under environmentally sustainable burial standards, and operates interactive provider directories and educational programs across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Certification Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Cemeteries and Crematories (81222), Funeral Homes and Funeral Services (812210)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Green burial certification
• Sustainable funeral services
• Natural burial standards
• Cemetery certification programs
• Eco-friendly burial products

Headquarters

HQ city

Placerville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Provider Certification Fees: Certification fees from burial grounds, funeral homes, and product manufacturers that seek GBC certification to demonstrate environmental compliance and gain access to the GBC provider directory.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Green Burial Council (GBC) is a volunteer-led educational nonprofit that certifies burial grounds, funeral homes, and products against green/environmental burial standards across three tiers (Hybrid, Natural, Conservation). It operates as the leading authority on green burial in North America, maintaining public-facing directories that list certified providers, cemeteries, and products to help consumers and industry participants locate approved offerings.

Product overview

The Green Burial Council (GBC) operates as a certification and educational nonprofit offering a suite of certification programs for cemeteries, funeral homes, and burial products, paired with consumer-facing directory tools. The core offering is the GBC Provider Certification program, which includes three cemetery certification tiers (Hybrid, Natural, and Conservation) and certifications for funeral homes and products. Consumer-facing tools include the Cemetery Provider Map and Funeral Homes Provider Map directories, plus a Burial Products Directory showcasing certified caskets, shrouds, and urns. The portfolio also includes Body Care Products certification for formaldehyde-free alternatives, along with educational resources such as planning guides, webinars, and annual conferences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Green Burial Council Certification Program Certification program evaluating and approving burial grounds, funeral homes, and burial/body care products against established green burial standards, with three tier levels (Hybrid, Natural, Conservation cemeteries). Certification is priced by quote.

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Arbor Day Foundation: Large environmental nonprofit with conservation and reforestation mission, comparable as a broader environmental advocacy organization with stronger funding scale.
• Sierra Club Foundation: Major environmental nonprofit whose mission and donor base overlap with GBC's environmental/conservation advocacy positioning in the nonprofit ecosystem.
• National Funeral Directors Association: Large U.S. trade association for funeral directors that serves as a broad industry incumbent overlapping with GBC's funeral home audience and educational role.
• International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association: International trade association representing cemeteries, crematories and funeral providers, a broad incumbent with overlapping standards-setting influence on the burial industry.
• Cremation Association of North America: Trade association setting standards and certifying cremation providers, an adjacent broad incumbent that competes for mindshare in the alternative disposition market GBC targets.

Direct peers

• Green Burial Association of Canada: Canadian nonprofit advocating for and certifying green burial providers, with overlapping mission and provider directory comparable to GBC.
• Funeral Consumers Alliance: U.S. consumer-focused nonprofit providing information and advocacy on funeral choices, including green burial, sharing GBC's educational and advocacy mission.
• Conservation Burial Alliance: UK-based nonprofit promoting natural and conservation burial with similar certification and standards-setting mission, directly comparable to GBC's conservation cemetery standards.

Emerging players

• Natural Burial Company: Provider of biodegradable burial products (caskets, shrouds) that fits GBC's product certification category, an emerging player in the green burial supply chain.
• Eternal Springs Natural Burial Ground: Natural burial ground operator implementing conservation cemetery principles, an emerging player illustrating the type of GBC-certified provider ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@GreenBurialCouncil
• Xx.com/greenburial_org
• Facebookfacebook.com/greenburialcouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/green-burial-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Green Burial Council