The Roques Blanques cemetery receives special mention at the EMAS 2014 Awards for environmental performance improvement
The award recognizes the cemetery's ongoing efforts in environmental protection and promotion.
One-third of burials at Roques Blanques are now eco-friendly, opting for burial alternatives such as the Forest of Calm or Family Trees, which promote the use of biodegradable urns.
El Papiol (Barcelona), October 31, 2014. – The Roques Blanques Regional Cemetery received a special mention in the category of Environmental Performance Improvement at the EMAS Catalonia 2014 Awards, held last night at the Historic Site of Santa Creu and Sant Pau in Barcelona. These awards recognize the efforts made towards environmental protection and quality by the nearly 300 companies in Catalonia that hold this important European certification, EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme). This environmental management registration is voluntary and allows the evaluation, improvement, and communication of the environmental performance of companies and other organizations.
The special mention at the EMAS Awards for Roques Blanques "serves as an encouragement for us to continue innovating and improving in the field of environmental management," says Joan Ventura, Director of Cemeteries at Àltima, the company managing this funeral facility. The cemetery, which serves the entire metropolitan area of Barcelona, is located at the western end of the Collserola Natural Park, in El Papiol (Barcelona), and covers an area of 50 hectares. It achieved its first EMAS certification in 2008 and remains the only cemetery in Catalonia to have it.
Increase in Green Burials
In its 30-year history, Roques Blanques, owned by the Baix Llobregat County Council, has become the model "park cemetery" in Spain, with an architectural approach that prioritizes integration into the natural environment, avoiding tall structures or columbarium streets. This environmentally respectful policy has contributed to an increase in eco-friendly burials at Roques Blanques, which, according to Àltima data, now account for 33% of services in the past year, five percentage points above the previous period. This growth is mainly due to initiatives such as the Forest of Calm and Family Trees, two eco-friendly burial alternatives in nature that involve planting a native tree – holm oak, cork oak, or stone pine – around which up to five biodegradable urns can be buried, identified by a small granite plaque flush with the ground. Families choosing this type of burial receive a GPS code so that in the future, as the trees grow and form a denser forest, they can locate their tree. Since its launch in 2007, these two options have allowed the planting of more than 960 specimens.
Environmental Commitment at All Levels
Roques Blanques has maintained a strong commitment to environmental protection and promotion since its inception. It was the first in Spain to implement eco-friendly burial initiatives in response to the growing trend of cremation (which stands at 37% in Catalonia), such as the Forest of Calm or Family Tree, as well as spaces for controlled ash disposal, spreading them or dissolving them in a fountain, such as the Rest Garden and Fountain, options that prevent the abandonment of non-biodegradable urns in protected natural environments. Additionally, it participates in various projects related to the protection of native flora and fauna in Collserola, in collaboration with the Collserola Foundation and the Granollers Museum of Natural Sciences, including initiatives for the research and protection of threatened species like bats, hedgehogs, squirrels, and amphibians.
Roques Blanques, which has two cremation furnaces, has also published an informational manual on cremation and a guide for the proper use of the cemetery as a natural space, with recommendations for visitors to preserve the environment. It also promotes energy resource savings – water and paper – reduces pollution – use of electric vehicles for burials or internal cemetery work – and minimizes environmental impacts – recycling waste, controlling furnace emissions, and encouraging the use of controlled wood for coffins.
The EMAS Catalonia Awards are organized by the EMAS Club and supported by the Department of Territory and Sustainability of the Generalitat of Catalonia. The award ceremony was presided over by Minister Santi Vila.