Sustainable development means meeting the basic needs of today, through appropriate management of human, natural and economic resources, so as not to compromise the capacity of the environment to respond to the essential needs of future generations.
In this spirit, we've designed a variety of new, environmentally friendly celebrations that can be held in our Jardin des mémoires or in a special place of your own choosing.
Discover our Jardin des mémoires and our new rituals for the scattering of ashes
Partnership with Jour de la Terre
MEMORIA is proud to announce it is teaming up with Jour de la Terre Québec for 375 000 Arbres, a project to plant 375,000 trees in the Greater Montreal region for the 375th anniversary of the town. Under this partnership, the 48 trees at the MEMORIA's Jardin des Memoires will be included in the project's tally and catalogued online at 375000arbres.org, encouraging a re-think of how natural greenery can be used in funeral rituals.
Read the news release (in French - April 2019)
As a gesture of its commitment, MEMORIA offers each family that chooses to hold a ceremony at the Jardin des mémoires the opportunity to "adopt" five newly planted trees, free of charge. Family members and loved ones will be able to dedicate the trees in memory of their loved one with a photo and in memoriam message on 375000arbres.org's virtual map. It's an environmentally friendly and modern way of paying homage to those who've passed away.
Funerals with minimum impact on the environment
For us at MEMORIA, sustainable development is not a fad or a matter of image. It is a commitment dictated by our environmental conscience, and an undeniable necessity that translates into day-to-day initiatives enabling us to offer funerals planned and performed in respect of nature, without costing more. For example:
- you can arrange a viewing without the deceased being embalmed (of course, in accordance with laws in force).
- MEMORIA has a choice of environmentally-friendly caskets, certified by the Green Burial Council, made of natural and fair trade materials, with water-based varnishes and finishes and few or no metallic parts.
- if you opt for cremation, MEMORIA offers a wide range of urns individually made by local craftspeople out of environmentally-friendly materials (wood, cotton fibre, sand or ceramic).
- our exclusive and personalized bookmarks are made with FSC-certified mixed-source paper.
- MEMORIA has a hybrid vehicle to carry ashes to the cemetery.
For all the details, visit the Eco-Sensitive Tributes page of our website.
If cremation is to take place afterward, it is also possible to choose a locally made wooden, recycled cotton fibre or ceramic urn. We can also organize a ceremony to scatter the ashes.
Small actions make a big difference
Small actions may appear insignificant on their own, but when they are made by a number of people who are able to encourage others to behave more responsibly, they take on greater importance. Here are a few examples:
- Reduce your transportation footprint by asking those attending the commemoration to car-share, as much as possible. Also, think about holding the ceremony and the viewing at the same location.
- Choose a locally made urn or casket. Opt for sustainably harvested wood and ask if the materials used, such as the varnish and glues, are environmentally friendly.
- Request that coffee and tea (offered at no charge at all MEMORIA funeral homes), as well as the buffet, when you have planned a reception, are served in "real" and not disposable dishes.
Our Partners
We consider the craftspeople with whom we work to be genuine partners. Many of them have had the honour of being officially recognized by the Green Burial Council, the only organization to certify businesses in the funeral industry.
Plant a tree in memory of a loved one
Our Trees in Memoriam program, in partnership with Tree Canada, enables you to plant a tree in memory of a loved one and to participate in major reforestation projects throughout Québec.
We can even help you to calculate the carbon footprint of the funeral and to plant as many trees as you wish.
A constant search for new solutions
We work with a team of engineers and biologists to analyze and provide solutions with respect to cremation and embalmment that reduce, in the first case, the amount of energy consumed, and in the second, the environmental repercussions.
In other words, our business choices regarding water and energy use and recycling speak volumes about our commitment to adopt the best environmentally-friendly practices.
Some useful links
To make an informed choice, it is important to have a good understanding of the issues. To that end, here are some useful links to environmental organizations, as well as to a series of articles about the environment.
Green Burial Council
L'industrie de la mort prend le virage vert (Les affaires, 5 au 11 fév. 2011)
Tree Canada