Reducing Rural Rides Cuts CO2

Albert Marsh, one of the oldest independent Funeral Directors on the South Coast, is doing its bit for the environment by switching its fleet to a fuel-efficient Binz hearse and matching 7 seater limousine. Operating within a rural location around Wareham in Dorset, the new 5 seat hearse avoids having a separate car on hand for additional bearers, especially when a minister needs to travel within the cortege.

As Jonathan Stretch Funeral Director explains on the occasion of taking delivery of the their new fleet, "One vehicle taken off a funeral means 1000 fewer vehicle movements a year; that’s a lot of CO2 not going into the atmosphere". Moving to diesel also means better use of finite resources. "There is a saving of around 20 per cent over petrol, it is a more environmentally-friendly fuel too – which is a benefit that we can pass on to our clients".

This heightened awareness of greener issues ties in with growing interest in caskets and coffins made from renewable materials such as woven willow and bamboo. But while attitudes to funerals may be changing, there are some things that people in the countryside prefer to stay the same – like the colour of their hearses and limousines.

But that’s no excuse to stand still, Albert Marsh’s sister company Lesley Shand Funeral Service, have ordered two vehicles to be finished in silver rather than the traditional black. They have found that silver can help soften the atmosphere surrounding a funeral, especially of a younger person.

In fact, there’s more to this issue of presentation than might meet the eye, since in a conservative profession as Albert Marsh makes clear, "Your hearse is your shop window on the road", and admit "Everybody comments on the amount of glass over the casket deck, I have to admire Binz for coming into the UK with a completely contemporary design of hearse". But the new fleet offers less obvious benefits too. "The Binz vehicles have an extremely good turning circle for their length", noting that this makes for a far more professional impression when manoeuvring a vehicle within the tight confines of a country churchyard.

Then there is the Mercedes-Benz pedigree itself: "People know what it is immediately when they get in to the limousine; you don’t get that with any other funeral vehicle", with their legendary reliability around the world – and the back-up received from Binz’s own UK parts operation in Reading.