BALTIPLAST at the “Rethinking Final Pathways” Event in Hamburg: Shaping a Sustainable Funeral Sector Together

On Wednesday, October 29, 2025, BALTIPLAST participated in the Rethinking Final Pathways: Shaping a Sustainable Funeral Sector Together event held in Ohlsdorf, Hamburg.

The event was guided by a powerful vision: a funeral culture that honors life, respects nature, and supports people in their grief, not despite sustainability, but through it. More than 50 professionals and stakeholders from the funeral sector attended, including florists, funeral homes, municipal and private cemetery representatives, grief counselors, and funeral supply companies.

The program featured an inspiring keynote speech, a panel discussion with practitioners, researchers, and public administrators, and interactive workshops focused on local implementation of sustainable practices.

At the start of the event, BALTIPLAST was introduced as a key partner, highlighting its consortium structure and its mission to develop and implement solutions that reduce single-use plastics in households, schools, institutions, and companies across the Baltic Sea Region. The session shared the results and solutions of the project and also provided quick access to BALTIPLAST’s online platforms and encouraging participants to take part in the project’s ongoing survey.

Throughout the day, the event fostered an open, hands-on, and solution-oriented dialogue among diverse actors on equal footing. Central to the discussions were best-practice examples demonstrating how to eliminate single-use plastics in cemetery practices and strengthen regional value chains from coffin preparation to floral arrangements.

BALTIPLAST was also present with a promotional booth, where our newly launched Educational Kit (EduKit) was showcased. The booth served as a visual representation of the project and a space to distribute flyers with key information about BALTIPLAST’s digital platform, designed for local authorities, public service providers, and educators in the Baltic Sea Region. Although our EduKit does not yet directly target the funeral sector, it provides interactive tools, case studies, and training videos that help improve plastic waste management and sustainability education.

During the sessions, several speakers addressed pressing challenges such as greenwashing and the market pressures exerted by international corporations. Participants reflected on how resource conservation and waste management could become standard practices in cemeteries, not as additional burdens, but as expressions of humanity’s connection to nature.

The event also included an exhibition of innovative products and materials, followed by a guided tour of Ohlsdorf Cemetery, the largest park cemetery in Europe. The day concluded with opportunities for networking and exchange, reinforcing a shared commitment to building a more sustainable and compassionate funeral culture.

Programme Manual Online

Choose