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Transforming Traditional Industries: Profitable Lessons from Funeral Services
Episode 18722nd May 2024 • Sustainability Solved • Sustainability Solved
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In this episode, hosts Will Richardson and Charlie Luxton delve into the surprising intersection of tradition and sustainability within the funeral industry. Joined by Sarah Jones, Founder of award-winning Full Circle Funerals, the discussion uncovers how the age-old sector is undergoing a transformative shift towards embracing sustainable practices.  

Fellow B Corp Full Circle Funerals stands at the forefront of this evolution by reframing funerals within the realm of health and social care. By prioritising holistic support and sustainability, Sarah challenges the conventional transactional approach of traditional funeral services.  

The episode underscores the evolving landscape of funeral services, where sustainability is becoming integral to end-of-life planning and commemoration. 


Highlights:  


  • With approximately 600,000 funerals arranged annually in the UK, Sarah sheds light on the environmental impact of traditional flame cremations and explores alternative options like electric cremators and natural burials.  
  • The conversation extends to personal choices in funeral arrangements and the importance of discussing end-of-life wishes with loved ones.  
  • Sarah’s book, Funerals Your Way, provides a resource for individuals to navigate their options and make informed decisions aligned with sustainability principles. Use code FYW25OFF for 25% off your copy here 
  • Through crowdfunding, Sarah initiated a groundbreaking study evaluating the environmental impact of different committal methods, including burial and cremation. Beyond carbon emissions, the study also considers factors like land usage, water consumption, space utilisation, and biodiversity.  
  • Sarah highlights the benefits of natural burial, which involves shallow depth and biodegradable materials as potentially the most environmentally friendly option.  
  • The conversation touches on the response of the funeral industry to sustainability efforts, with Sarah acknowledging the challenges of mobilising a diverse sector without regulatory guidance.   
  • Will and Charlie share their personal experiences and perspectives, with Will discussing his decision to opt for a wicker basket burial for his father and reflects on the environmental impact of funeral practices.  

Resources: 


Full Circle Funerals 


Funerals Your Way by Sarah Jones – use code FYW25OFF for 25% off! 

Greener Funerals Research  

 


 


Green Element Group is an environmental management consultancy offering a range of bespoke sustainability services, products, and resources to accelerate the just transition to a stable climate. The Group consists of Green Element Limited, Compare Your Footprint Limited, and Sustainability Solved Podcast and Resource Hub


Find out more about Green Element Grouphereand benefit from a 20% discount on the first year of subscription to Compare Your Footprint, the highest quality carbon footprint software for your organisation. When registering, click ‘Got a Coupon’ and enter code ‘PODCAST‘ to claim discount. 

A big thank you to our sponsors! 


This episode of Sustainability Solved is sponsored by Business Declares, a not-for-profit business network who inspire, encourage, and accelerate action within businesses to address the climate, ecological, and social emergency. 


They are an active network of 100+ businesses who back our commitments to reach net-zero, restore and protect nature, and advocate for regulatory change. 


Join Business Declares as a member to get help accelerating your action on net-zero targets and on nature targets for your business from the network. Find out more here: Business Declares 

Mentioned in this episode:

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Transcripts

SS funerals episode

Will: [:

Charlie: And I'm Charlie Luxton. an architectural designer who focuses on sustainable buildings. Now in this episode, we're looking at the funeral industry. Please don't assume this is going to be a morbid or dull episode. Our guest today is Sarah Jones from Full Circle Funerals, and she's anything but. She's shaking up the industry by amongst other things, producing a report about sustainability.

Welcome to the podcast, Sarah.

Sarah: Thank you.

t of all, how did you end up [:

Sarah: So, um, I, uh, started my working life as a medic and then I worked in health and social care.

So not the most traditional route into funeral care, but then I, um, I decided or felt that, um, funerals are really important. Um, it's something that all of us have to engage with at some point and I wanted to, uh, create a space where it was framed as something within health and social care rather than something that maybe can be perceived as a little bit more transactional.

en set up Full Circle back in:

Charlie: I mean, that sounds like an incredibly unusual journey into your current profession. How many people start up new funeral sort of parlours or funeral organisations?

m, I think starting one up's [:

So you've got, you know, one end of the spectrum, you've got really long standing, you know, 17th generation..., maybe not that long, but you know. fourth generation family businesses that have been passed down through families. And then there are increasingly newer funeral directors like myself, who've set up, when I phoned around actually and spoke to a few people in the industry before I opened, somebody I spoke to said, Oh, he has lots of these kind of educated women coming into funeral care nowadays.

And that's sort of changing the picture a little bit. So there are plenty of people who are choosing. It as a, a career, I guess, a profession, a vocation, whatever.

there's all probably a huge [:

Sarah: Yeah, you're right. So in the UK is a business. Um, and in other countries, sometimes it's, um, not set up as a business. So it's offered, you know, uh, as a public service in some countries, it's more of a cooperative or a social enterprise, but yeah, you're right in the UK.

Funeral care is a business. And interestingly, we might be recession proof, but it's incredibly competitive because if you imagine all. Funeral directors are inherently different philosophically in terms of what they do, how they approach things, but an awful lot of people haven't necessarily got death literacy as the term.

ral business because lots of [:

So it's not easy from a business perspective.

Charlie: But as an industry, it isn't really regulated, is it, in the same way as many other industries? I mean, there aren't sort of lots of trade bodies, from what I understand, and obviously there are some. events like the recent one up in Hull that kind of challenged people's ideas of how it's, how it's operated. I mean, is there a desire amongst your colleagues, maybe amongst this newer generation to actually see regulation, to see some kind of control over how this service is provided?

Will: Before you answer that, could you just quickly, what happened in Hull?

Sarah: There's been a lot in the news recently about a funeral director called Legacy Funeral Directors in Hull. Um, there's an ongoing police investigation, um, but there were significant concerns about the quality of care for people who had died in the care of this funeral director.

going to be some sort of a, [:

Sarah: Um, I, yeah, well I'm probably more of a tipping point kind of a gal.

I think it's certainly an important moment, um, that hopefully gets us closer to a tipping point. So yes, we are currently completely unregulated. There are two trade associations, but membership is voluntary rather than compulsory. And that has always been the case. There was a competition and markets authority review of the industry, um, pre pandemic, which was prompted by above inflation price increases by some of the larger funeral care providers, which prompted an investigation.

at the moment. So the Fuller [:

So that prompted a, uh, an independent inquiry, the first year of which is concluded, which is hospital based. And now the second year is about how people are physically cared for in the community. So that I think is another important moment towards us reaching a tipping point where, um, I, I think we should and will be regulated, and I think, I'll put it out there, I think we should be, uh, we should sit within health and social care and I think we should sit within the regulatory framework of health and social care because I have worked within that regulatory framework in the to previous jobs and I think it applies just fine to funeral care.

ing a new one. But, and I, I [:

So they have understandable kind of reticence about what that might mean. Does it increase barriers of entry? Does it? reduce them. I personally think it's absolutely the way to go. And the general public, sort of, without probably giving it too much thought, and I'm guessing you gents may be the same, you just kind of assume we are.

You think funeral directors are trained, there are professional standards, there must be some sort of qualification, there must be someone checking in that we're doing a good job. So I think the assumption amongst the public is there. And now I think, um, we need to have regulation that kind of bridges that gap.

anet Mark, but what would be [:

Sarah: Okay, yeah, I suppose fundamentally, if, um, I think it's important to have a blueprint of what good looks like, whether that's within care of people who have died within support for people who are living within sustainability, I think It to me, it seems always helpful to have some kind of vision of good, and certainly something that can be discussed.

what good looks like, and in [:

And, um, both generally and then within sustainability, what does a sustainable, um, funeral industry look like? What is a beautiful blueprint for this utopia that we're all working towards. And then I guess you can kind of back that up with a plan, right? Everybody can look at it and think, okay, so what does that look like for me in this decision that I am making right now for my business or my person?

in a small or a big way can, [:

I have no idea if that even vaguely answered your question.

Charlie: No, no, no, I think it does. I think it does. I think, I think, I think it's really interesting that That what good looks like. And I suppose really, that's why we were interested in talking to you, Sarah, is because it's like you're working in what I think you could certainly class as a pretty conservative industry.

I would imagine. I'm making an assumption here, but I'm assuming it's a fairly conservative industry and you're trying to change it. And actually I think that's the great lesson for people listening is how do you change? How do you make change in any industry? So it's really interesting that this idea of what good looks like.

Will: Could you tell us how big this. problem is and how, like what's going on in the industry?

arranged in the UK. Um, and [:

Charlie: So that's half a million cremations, give or take.

Sarah: Yes, by flame cremation. And now there is a gentle introduction of electric cremators. And there's some discussion about biofuel cremators. And then the remainder is a combination of traditional burial and natural burial.

Charlie: What about burial at sea? Is that good for the environment?

Sarah: I think, having never been involved in one, although I would, you know, be really happy to support anybody who would like that, uh, I think the, uh, materials that are required to be able to complete the burial at sea, um, would mean actually it's really carbon intensive.

Charlie: So you can't just have a rowboat and a flag.

That's what I was thinking, a rowboat and a flag. I've seen the, I've seen the films.

o be very weighted. So that, [:

Charlie: Okay. So don't do that. I thought we could be onto something there.

Fish food, I thought might be a good way to go because I'm genuinely trying to work it out for myself. And I know my mother's been on this journey, you know, not in a morbid way and it kind of like, well, what? Yeah. What do you do to make it, to make it special? And if you are focused on sustainability, these questions really do crop up.

Sarah: Well, if she's interested, so I did write a book called Funerals Your Way, and it's a quick guide through, kind of, if you want to just jot down your wishes, um, have a sense of the choices that are available if you want to, um, maybe talk about a funeral with someone else or if you need to arrange a funeral.

So it's a quick, um, a quick read. And, um, for, for those of us with parents who are interested. Instead, I would definitely suggest sticking it in there.

m hoping she doesn't mind me [:

Like, it is a bit more, but my dad...

Charlie: I saw your mum the other day, she's fine, she's not going through it right now, she's, she's absolutely fine, I saw her.

Will: No, but, like, my dad wrote a list of stuff that she had to do for the next 10 years on her house, like what she needed to paint, and, like, what's properly just said, like, this is what I do, now this is what, you know, I'm not going to be around, so here you go. I think it's really important, and actually really

Charlie: My wife's mother's funeral was, was, was sort of just not, you know, it was fine, but it was just so not her. And I think that's the thing I sort of really fear is, is, is, is, is, you know, my parents funeral or my funeral just not being about me or about the person.

And I think that's why it's something we don't talk about enough. It's so easy to get railroaded into the way it's done, but it doesn't really suit who we are. So I think. You know, from that perspective, the fact that you're asking these questions is brilliant.

this Will with your dad, he [:

The act of then fulfilling those wishes is a real gift. It's really, we see, you know, and it doesn't need to be hugely detailed or complicated, but just fulfilling a wish on the day, like it's the ultimate gift, isn't it? I respect this wish and I'm fulfilling it for you. And there's something very kind of full circle about that, I guess, kind of getting to what they wanted.

Will: I agree. I agree. But that is a huge amount of carbon emissions that, um, your industry produces actually. And I think that tackling it is actually really important considering it's inevitable. Like we can't, like we can't hide from the funeral industry because it's there. We're all going to die. So therefore we do need to tackle the environmental impact of it.

under a tree, you know, in a [:

Sarah: Oh, I wish I had the answer, Charlie. No, I wish I had the answer. So I guess just to back up slightly, what I did is I crowdfunded 20, 000 And the reason I crowdfunded it is so that it wasn't industry funded. So this is community funded.

Gave that 20, 000 to Planet Mark and said, please can you tell me what the environmental impact of different committal options is? So that's your burial and cremation and what the environmental impact is on the, on the most commonly chosen coffins. Here is the money. Please, could you give me the answers to that?

h, no new data. There was no [:

But what they did and what the Planet Mark report has done is collate, I guess, what was already available and have an independent person look at that. to decide whether that was worthy of being included in the report or not. So to answer your question, there are some things that it didn't do. So for example, um, purely on the CO2 required for the process of burial.

is it hasn't then gone into [:

Even accounting for all of those things, I would be surprised, this is now my personal, not sustainability expert opinion, I would be surprised if natural burial doesn't end up coming out as um, the best option. So natural burial is shallow depth, so it's aerobic rather than anaerobic degradation. There are no, it's only biogradable materials in the grave and there's no grave marking and there are native species which are encouraged to grow in and around the grave.

And particularly if that's hand dug rather than machine dug, it seems a stretch to me that maybe that wouldn't make the most sense from an environmental perspective. Um, there is an alternative which is available in other parts of the world and is becoming available here, which is water cremation. So that's a process of alkaline hydrolysis under really high pressure and you end up with ash.

ind of end result is similar [:

But right now, today, I think it would be difficult to disagree with natural burial. where it gets even more complicated is if you're buried, it's more likely that people are going to come and visit your grave. If you're cremated, then if people are going to travel and visit, it's, it might be, but it's less likely that would be at the crematorium.

the committal, but actually [:

Charlie: So so if I wanted to absolutely ace this I would tell my family that when I die shallow bury me hand dig it. Stick a tree on top of them, some native species, and don't tell anyone where it is.

lot more work that needs to [:

But yes, cotton shroud, natural burial, hand dug, and then find a way to have an ongoing continuing bond with someone that doesn't involve traveling somewhere. Have, bake your favorite cake. When they're thinking of you, enjoy, I dunno, whatever it is that your favorite meal is, listen to music, write a song and listen to it.

Do, do things which don't, because having an ongoing continued bond with someone who's died is super important. Particularly, I mean, we all should have that available to us and then we can choose what we need. Um, wear your jumper, turn it into a teddy bear and cuddle it, whatever, you know, just things that there's lots and lots of things, but yes, repeated and regular travel at distance to a location which is.

you're going to specifically for memorialization over the course of 20 years. Planet Mark's conclusion was actually that's where the intensity comes from a carbon perspective.

Will: I listened to the archers because of my dad.

Sarah: Yeah,

to the archers if it wasn't [:

Sarah: Yeah. And that's a beautiful example of an ongoing bond and just, you know, you, you, there's, and there's so, you, When you think, there's things of my, my grandfather who's been dead many years now, he used to drink Jägermeister, you know, before it was popular.

Charlie: Sounds like a party kind of guy.

Sarah: Well, I think he's Dutch and I think it's kind of just what you drink in Holland.

It wasn't, it's not, it's before Jägerbombs or whatever. But, um, yeah, so we, we occasionally will buy a bottle of Jägermeister and have a little toast of Jägermeister and yeah, it's for him. So those sorts of things keep someone front of mind, but don't involve, you know, traveling to a location.

're trying to put this, this [:

Sarah: So, um, part of the challenge is that, um, in the absence of, I guess, a regulator or something that brings us all together, it's quite hard even to sort of disseminate this anywhere in particular. There isn't really a place, a person that you can send this to who would then say to the industry, yes, this is important.

I think there are, uh, individual. funeral directors, who I know use it in their practice, so would speak to families about it and use it as a source of data for people who want to make, um, more sustainable choices. I think the conclusion that I've come to is in the absence of pending regulation, specifically relating to the environment, it's going to be difficult to mobilize Such a large and disparate sector.

Um, [:

in 2030 or probably needs to be a bit beyond that now because we're not that far off that but what does that look like so that each so that coffin manufacturers can do their bit um crematoria can do that but burial agencies consider what that means for them consumers there's a consumer education piece so I think the answer is I think At the moment, it probably hasn't done very much, but hopefully what I have done is said, this is possible.

n to know what we need to do [:

And then again, we're back to that tipping point, aren't we? At some point, if somebody in a regulator or someone in government, or someone looks up and says, this is a thing, this feels like an easy win to me. You've got, you know, if you want to have an impact, there's a couple of things that could be done, decisions that could be made with a long time scale and with support and all of that stuff, um, that would make a really big difference.

Like concrete, you know, everybody accepts, we need to find a replacement for concrete, so people are working on that. You know, like, um, renewables, people are working on that. We need to find alternatives to some of our committal choices.

going to probably find that [:

And, um, I think that's, I think that's really, really important. I remember when dad died and we got a wicker. Basket and he was buried and it was because I thought I've personally thought about it. There's no information out there, but I thought, I mean, I've always wanted to be chucked at the top of a mountain and have vultures eat me.

That, I know that's incredibly morbid, but I've always felt that's probably the most environmental way to go because it's giving back to the ecosystem. And I think that's really important, but, um, I think, yeah, I think what you're doing is you're paving that tipping point as well.

ef is that, um, if we, well, [:

I've chosen not to do that and to try and recognize I'm massively flawed and much of my life is, again, structurally not as good for the environment as it, as I would like it to be. But it's just about every, you know, just trying to bit by bit, do what you can and hope that, yeah, like ripples on a pond, it maybe just influences the person next to you a little bit.

Or, you know, if somebody who we support with a funeral, maybe kind of leaves thinking, Oh, actually, you know, yes, it's You can make more sustainable choices mentions that to their neighbor who then is writing their will and thinks, Oh, yeah, I'm going to mention in my will. I'd like people to think about the environment.

It's just little bits, isn't it? But those ripples can go really far. And yes, back to that tipping point.

Charlie: So I mean, Full [:

I'm, we're a small architecture practice working on sustainability and we're trying to do stuff that from first principles of what we think we need to be doing. You know, really driving down and body carbon. And actually, I think that's critical. Like do your thing as well as you can and communicate to people how you're doing it.

And that is how change happens. I think it is a ground up. I think there is a, you know, bystander effect that we're, we're waiting for somebody else to come in and say, you must do this to change, but ultimately we all need to take responsibility. And I think that is a really good lesson, whatever industry you're working in.

thought, it's just not who I [:

But hopefully I can kind of see Softly in my own way. Yeah. Just disrupt the people around me thinking a little bit by doing something different, but yeah. And we need activists. And I certainly for a little while, I thought, gosh, if I was one, I could use this and this would be the thing, but it's, it's knowing, it's knowing what you are and being true to yourself.

Isn't it? Cause that was never going to. go well for me.

Charlie: And have you noticed, I mean, have you seen the response to people to the report when they come to see you, you know, and obviously they're generally, I think, probably in a real moment of learning because, you know, when you're responsible for a funeral, it's a real moment of learning.

re saying, I actually see it [:

Sarah: Yeah. So, um, that's a, that's an interesting question. I feel like depending on what day you ask me that you might get a slightly different answer. So my, my answer for today is my perception of what happens is that people, Go to a funeral director, often not having had the opportunity to do as much research as maybe they would have done for other purchases, to call it that.

Um, so they come in to, they come in to see us. And then, for example, what we, um, I hope and believe, say to every family that we support is, we, we have a lot of, um, experience in supporting people with greener choices. If that's something you would like to know more about, then I can share that with you. So we try and open the door without creating unreasonable pressure, given that people often have lots of competing priorities at that point.

e with. The door needs to be [:

It's very hard to describe what we do until you've experienced it, because unfortunately, the words that describe what we do is what every single Funeral Director plus or over their windows. So it's, you've got to kind of experience it to know what it feels like and the difference that it makes. But what we absolutely find is In the feedback that people give, and we can see it during the process of arranging the funeral and the time that we spend with people, that being able to give that information in, at the time and in the way that works for people definitely turns it from something that needs to get done into something that actually becomes a very, very important.

e a funeral. Cause it sets a [:

So it's hard that my, my, my challenge, which I come back to all the time is it's really hard to describe what, um, my perception of what good looks like and what people deserve and should expect. But you kind of know when someone's experiencing it. And I know it works for people when they experience it.

It's just really hard to describe what it is before people come. And sustainability is the same. You know, there's a continuum. So some people, they're not interested. Some people say actually, because of the way that this person lived their life, this was their priority. So it's the priority in the funeral choices.

e that works. But, um, it's, [:

And then meet there's so many people and there's so many often competing objectives and needs. So, um, again, don't think I answered it.

Charlie: No, I think you absolutely answered it. So have you, uh, and has this report, I assume has been offered out to the big, you know, the co ops and the, and the big corporate players. And has there been any traction at all with, with those outfits?

Sarah: Well, you never know what goes on behind closed doors, I guess. Um,

Charlie: that's a very telling political answer. Well done.

I, I think that ,

Sarah: I don't know. You know, I'm not, I, I'm not a, you know, I'm not a kind of big mover and shaker in the funeral industries that's around these tables that knows kind of what the agenda is.

he beginning of the podcast. [:

I would imagine That the, the more immediate and urgent priority is, is to understand what regulation will look like and the impact that that will have.

Charlie: But it must be a fairly unusual industry that there is almost no conversation about the sustainable, you know, the impact on environment from the action of that industry.

I mean, there's very few areas of, of, of modern economies that are reflecting, self reflecting on those things. So. You know, it does seem slightly extraordinary that there has been no work in the area. Well,

there have been discussions.[:

I guess the problem is, it's the what then It's the so what piece in the absence of regulation or ultimately like a boss, a person who hierarchically ultimately at the top gets to say, you need to do this because, you know, I say so and that's ratified somewhere. And I think a lot of things don't then turn into action.

I mean, I can't think of a comparable sized industry that's unregulated. that does the scale of what we do. Yeah.

And also impacts so many lives, you know, uh, it does seem quite extraordinary. So, you know, it feels like there's likely to be a change of government or at least a new government formed in the next six months.

absolutely no awareness, it [:

Sarah: I mean, I've sent it to, you know, People in important places and I, I guess I have to trust that that's landed somewhere in their heads and as and when they have the headspace to be looking at this, they will remember it and they'll think, Oh, I remember actually, I did get sent a report about this and they pick it up and that then helps to mobilize them.

I think my understanding is that's probably how it happens, right? It's important to see a lot of stuff and you hope it floats and, and you hope they grab it and, um, remember where to look.

Will: I think it's those touch points, isn't it? It's making sure that they see it in so many different places. I mean, I'd like to have it as a download for people after this.

ou go, you mentioned tipping [:

By Jared. Yeah, exactly. And it's, so therefore it makes sense that there's lots and lots of things going on. And then suddenly it's,

Sarah: I keep thinking about those turnstiles and that graffiti. It's me clearing up a bit of graffiti.

Charlie: And I think, I think you're right. I think, I think there's two, there's two points.

I suppose one is I think the best you can, the thing you can do is just keep doing what you do as well as possible and be a lamplighter and keep, and keep sort of talking about it and shouting about it, you know, very. Great that you could come on today and talk about it, but interested. I'd be interested to see because it feels when, for example, you go to hospitals.

feels like the whole health. [:

Will: It's really hard, Charlie. So there's a guy called, uh, Matt Sawyer. He's a GP, um, who I worked with quite early on in his journey. He came to me to ask me, what is it that we can do? Can you help me? And I worked with him a bit, but what we came up against quite quickly in health, you know, Was I can't talk to a surgeon about the waist in a actually someone like Matt, who is a GP and he's deliberately practicing GP as well now.

So therefore when he goes into a hospital, he is Dr. Matt Sawyer. He is a GP in Yorkshire that works in medicine and there is so much inhalers was something that he came up with. They're amazing, quickly, amazing. And I hadn't thought about it at all.

Charlie: Yeah, try, try inhalers

d it's, but it's the pr, the [:

it, but also you need to take into consideration there is a huge amount of waste. But then what happens if we take away all those, those protocols and policies and suddenly everyone gets, what's that big disease that, um, that you get in hospital?

Sarah: MRSA? Yes,

Will: MRSA. And so if MRSA suddenly just went around hospitals, we'd go, well, we are greener, but loads of people are dying.

So there's such a fine balance.

Charlie: Yeah, I think, I think undoubtedly there's clearly got to be a balance but it does feel as though the whole industry, the whole sector has not really looked in the mirror properly and it strikes me that, that, that it's a symptom of that, it's the way in which the funeral industry potentially has, has managed to evade any oversight.

Sarah: Although we don't even sit there, so we don't even sit in health and social care, we sit in the ministry of justice.

Charlie: Oh, so, um, that makes sense,

service. Yep. So as the kind [:

Will: because of history, it makes sense. It does make sense.

Sarah: We don't even sit in health and social care, um, Harrogate Hospital, um, I think are quite, uh, forward thinking in terms of their sustainability practices. So they do. So I think there are pockets of people and places maybe who do have a bit of agency in their, They have some scope agencies.

I think Matt's near Harrogate. My understanding is that Harrogate hospital that are doing some good stuff. Um, and there will be funeral directors who are doing, who are doing good stuff. And that's frustrating, isn't it? Because what you want is for a couple of really innovative people to lead the way and then everyone else to be able to just copy that.

To say, okay, that worked. Let's do that.

improve its sustainability, [:

Sarah: it's a tricky question. Um, can I do it in a Gantt chart?

Can I start with?

Will: Absolutely.

Charlie: Love a Gantt chart.

Sarah: Having, having, um, enough, 80 percent good enough data, um, about the key parts of a funeral, um, not just carbon, but the wider impact. So biodiversity, land, water, and having that ragged. So it's nice and simple to look at. Then we would have a blueprint of what a utopia looks like and be able to share this with every single.

in a way which was kind and [:

Charlie: so the communi so, get your house in order and then communicate it to the, to the, to often very vulnerable people about what

Sarah: Yeah, or even internally, you know, get, get the facts straight.

Disseminate that, um, to people who are then really motivated to make it happen. And then every single one of those people, persons, people, people in the industry, um, are just really cognizant of the unintended consequences of some of these actions, which inevitably will happen. Like Will's MRI say, you know, inevitably.

There will be bumps. And if we're all, if we're all looking for them, then we can iron them out.

Charlie: Well, I think that seems like a very good, uh, blueprint for most the trans transformation transition of most industries. But and, and if anyone's listening to this and wants,

Sarah: can I chunk up a bit high? Did you want a bit more specific?

ork with Sarah to. To create [:

Next month, we're going to be talking to Charlotte Harrington from Belu Water, a bottled water company that tells its customers to try and avoid buying bottled water. Make sure you hit follow in your app so you get notified as soon as that episode drops.

Will: For questions and more information on sponsorship opportunities, email [email protected]. And if you have enjoyed what you've heard today, please do leave us a review in your podcast app. It really, really is appreciated. Thanks for listening.

Charlie: I'm Charlie Luxton.

Will: And I'm Will Richardson.

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