Welcome back: More than three million people died in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Funeral Directors Association estimated that more than 60% of bodies were cremated in 2024 while about 33% were buried.

A typical burial where a casket is put in a concrete plot emits 250 pounds of carbon, according to the Green Burial Council. Emissions can be driven up if caskets are made of mahogany, have plastic handles or are transported with bubble wrap, according to a report by Planet Mark.

Cremation is one of the most carbon-intensive ways of disposing of a body because burning is energy-intensive and the body releases carbon dioxide. Cremation associations estimate that the process can generate about 534 pounds of carbon dioxide.

This compares with about 25 pounds of CO2 for an environmentally friendly burial. There are a range of options, from what’s known as human composting, where a body’s decomposition is accelerated in a special temperature-controlled vessel as it becomes soil, to aquamation, where a body is essentially cremated through water—a route chosen by Archbishop Desmond Tutu after he died in 2021. You can even get buried in a casket made of mushrooms.

Read on for more on this story and other sustainability news.

Most people don’t think much about the carbon footprint of a funeral. But some startups are hoping to draw individuals looking for the ultimate way to return to the earth, WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Clara Hudson writes.

Last week, Netherlands-based Loop Biotech brought its first mushroom casket to the U.S. Loop "grows" a casket in just seven days using mycelium, living fungal fibers that make up the root structure of mushrooms, around a frame constructed of organic plant waste materials like hemp fibers. The caskets decompose along with the body and ultimately enrich the soil and boost plant growth.

The process doesn’t release carbon dioxide or other gases like cremation does, Earth Funeral says, and it uses renewable energy. The body is placed in an oblong vessel on a layer of mulch, wood chip and wildflowers, breaking down into soil with the help of water and microbes.

Meta Platforms is turning to nuclear power for the massive amounts of electricity it needs to fuel its artificial-intelligence ambitions. The tech giant will buy the power generation of a nuclear plant in Illinois for 20 years under a deal with Constellation Energy, the WSJ's Jennifer Hiller reports.

It is the first deal of its kind in the U.S. with an operating nuclear plant but has parallels to one that Constellation and Microsoft struck last year around the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania. In that case, a 20-year power-purchase agreement is spurring the restart of that site’s undamaged reactor, which was already undergoing decommissioning. Neither deal removes power from the grid.

The tech industry’s romance with nuclear power is rooted in the AI frenzy captivating the sector. Building advanced AI systems will take city-sized amounts of electricity, which has turbocharged demand projections for the first time this century.

Under what is known as a power-purchase agreement, or PPA, Meta will essentially buy the clean attributes of the nuclear-power generation to offset its less-green electricity use elsewhere. Meta doesn’t intend to build a data center on-site, and electricity from the plant will continue to flow to the grid.

One of Europe's largest electricity companies said that its decision to strengthen nature in its supply chains is a direct result of the European Union's newly-enacted Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, OPIS's Anthony Lane reports.

Swedish state-owned Vattenfall announced a raft of measures at the end of last month as part of its Biodiversity Transition Plan, which it aims to implement over the next five years. Those policies include undertaking an assessment of nature-related impacts and dependencies in its supply chains in addition to boosting biodiversity at dozens of hydro, nuclear, wind, solar and sub-installation sites across Europe.

"We see our Biodiversity Transition Plan in itself as a direct response to the expectation in CSRD that companies disclose their strategic approach to biodiversity," Helle Herk-Hansen, the company's Vice President, Environment, told OPIS on Friday. "Several of the activities outlined in the plan are directly to meet CSRD requirements or to improve our reporting in the coming years. In particular, we are raising our ambition in how we address biodiversity across our value chain."

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• FEMA scraps new hurricane plan and reverts to last year’s. (WSJ)
   
• Microsoft purchases 60,000 soil carbon credits from sustainable farming solutions provider indigo. (ESG Today)
   
• Mastercard CSO: ‘Making more sustainable choices is a megatrend.’ (Trellis)
   
• Texas Republicans fail in move to curb renewable energy projects. (FT)
   
• Wind opponents sue Trump administration to block New York wind project. (Reuters)
   
• China’s carbon emissions may have peaked. (Economist)
   
• Scientists in Japan develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours. (Reuters)
   
• Landslides leave Big Sur’s beloved landmarks fighting for survival. (WSJ)

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business gives you an inside look at how companies are tackling sustainability. Send comments to bureau chief Perry Cleveland-Peck at perry.cleveland-peck@wsj.com and reporters Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com and Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com. Follow us on LinkedIn at wsjperry, clara-hudson and yusuf_khan.