At H. Porter and Sons, we care deeply about the environment and want to reduce our impact on the planet.

Funerals

We’re delighted to be able to offer coffins which cause less harmful emissions during cremation and use less trees in their production through LifeArt. These coffins create up to 87% less greenhouse gases than a standard coffin and use 80% less trees. We think that these coffins are the future, and we want to act now to preserve our local, national and world environment. We believe that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) needs to come from all businesses and we want to do all we can to address the environmental impact of funerals. They are lighter to carry, beautifully manufactured to a high standard and we think they look beautiful. We are pleased to offer woodland burials, other biodegradable coffins and ashes urns, including those that biodegrade in water, and are suitable for the burial of ashes at sea.
> Please see our Brochures page for the LifeArt Coffins brochure.

Nature

With the support of two local horticulturists, we’re developing a wellbeing garden for our staff – to provide them with an outdoor space to enjoy fresh air and nature.

It’s part of an exciting plan to rewild various outdoor spaces at our South Road premises, and create a haven for beneficial pollinator insects, butterflies, and birds through various plants and bug hotels.

But not only will the garden provide food for wildlife, it will also feature herbs which our staff are welcome to pick, reducing the need to buy produce in plastic packaging. So, if you fancy a nice soothing cup of organically-grown mint or camomile tea, pop in to H. Porter & Sons.

Recycling

Keen recyclers, we encourage recycling of all waste within the business – from food to packaging.

In The Lounge – our private, beautifully refurbished catering suite – we are phasing out single-use portions and switching to jars for tea and coffee. And soon, visitors using our water dispensers will benefit from compostable cups rather than plastic – our staff already use their own drinking glasses.

H. Porter & Sons’ staff benefit from a weekly fruit box delivery, helping us to cut down on packaging and wrapping. We provide reusable containers to staff for lunch leftovers in an attempt to cut down on foil and clingfilm.

Energy

We have also switched many of our light bulbs to lower energy ones and will continue to reduce our power usage wherever possible. We are eagerly awaiting our next energy renewal to enable us to switch to a renewable electricity provider.

Whilst our premises are equipped with air conditioning for the comfort of our clients and staff, we always open windows in the first instance when we need to cool the building down.

Transport

Our next fleet of vehicles will be electric or an alternative to petrol or diesel and we’re about to install an electric car charging point for the benefit of our clients and staff.

Our amazing staff

We’re extremely proud of the fact that much of our work to take care of the planet has been led by our fantastic staff.

During annual reviews, employees are asked to put forward their ideas about how they can be more environmentally friendly in their role.

As a result, we now use recycled paper envelopes, only print when necessary opting instead for email communication, use greener cleaning products and we’re currently looking into coffins that produce lower emissions when cremated.

Suppliers

Being environmentally-friendly is a team effort. That’s why we require our suppliers to provide details of their green policies, as we want to work with businesses who share H. Porter & Sons’ goal of ensuring our children inherit a healthy planet.

Community

We are keen to support green enterprises through The John Porter Community Fund and have supported the ‘Wild About Stourbridge’ environmental community action group.