Parc de Roques Blanques is the first cemetery in Spain to be awarded the “EMAS” certificate.[box]
Recognised by all the Member States of the European Union, EMAS is an eco-management and audit scheme open to any organisation that has introduced an eco-management system. This EMAS accreditation guarantees a more efficient management of the environmental aspects of this Barcelona cemetery, as well as the company’s implementation and evaluation of eco-management systems and the periodic dissemination of results.
Parc de Roques Blanques is committed to protecting indigenous flora and fauna, saving energy resources (water, paper) and preventing pollution by controlling atmospheric emissions from its cremation furnaces, promoting the use of wood that comes from sustainable forests, and recycling waste. It also encourages visitors to use natural flowers that can be recycled as compost.
With regard to burials, the cemetery offers a number of innovative alternatives. The Forest of Calm, a burial option that contributes to the reforestation of Collserola forest, offers the possibility of planting a native tree next to the biodegradable urn that contains the ashes of the deceased. Another option, the Garden of Rest, allows non-ecological urns to be controlled and managed, thus preventing them from being abandoned in any natural space. Likewise, the company that runs the cemetery is also studying the benefits of installing solar panels to produce the electricity it consumes.
