The Awesome Role Trees Play
More pet owners and vets now choose cremation for end-of-life care. In Canada, nearly 80% of deceased pets are cremated each year. But as climate concerns grow, cremation’s impact is under the spotlight: a single pet cremation releases about 230 lb of CO₂. With roughly 800,000 pet cremations annually—and projected growth of over 4% per year for the next five years—that’s a sizable carbon “pawprint.”
Here’s the hopeful part: trees. An average tree absorbs about 48 lb of CO₂ per year and can capture roughly 1 ton over 40 years. That means one tree can offset the emissions from a pet’s cremation in under five years—and then keep pulling carbon from the air for decades.
Enter Petatree, a Canadian company that lets owners turn their pet’s ashes into a living memorial. The cremains go into a fully compostable, biodegradable Petatree urn with soil, a pH buffer, and a young tree. The result: a meaningful tribute that neutralizes the cremation footprint—and more.
And beyond climate benefits, a single tree can provide a day’s worth of oxygen for four people, day after day. Trees really do deserve the hugs.