PEOPLE are increasingly being told their carbon footprint from living is killing the planet. Now it seems we are doing the same by dying.

A Cowley coffin company has worked out 215 kilograms of carbon dioxide is emitted whenever the average body is cremated.

That equates to 520 tonnes a year in Oxford and so the company is voluntarily making a donation to cut the carbon footprint.

Mary Tomes, managing director of Colourful Coffins, said: "We feel very strongly that we should do everything we can to adopt a green approach within the funeral market and feedback shows it is something our customers care about too.

"We already use paper-based wraps and environmentally-friendly inks - this agreement underlines the fact we take our commitment to the green agenda very seriously.

"We're very pleased to be setting an example to our industry."

Ms Tomes believes the company is the first in the industry to take this green route with the money going to Oxford-based offsetting specialist Climate Care.

With every cremation, 215 kilograms of carbon dioxide is emitted - about the same as burning ten litres of fuel in a car - and 70 per cent of the 550,000 funerals in the UK a year are now cremations.

Last year, 2,419 cremations were carried out at the Oxford Crematorium emitting a total of 520,085 kilograms of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Crematorium spokesman Amanda Grant said emissions were strictly monitored and independently vetted.

About £2.50 from every coffin cremated will be used by Climate Care on a range of projects around the world ranging from building wind turbines to restoring forests.

Managing director David Wellington said: "Colourful Coffins should be congratulated for providing a greener cremation option - everyone who respects the planet will want their leaving of it to reflect that."

The move has been welcomed by Craig Simmons, leader of the Green Party in Oxford.

He said: "I think it is important that people take their environmental responsibilities seriously from the cradle to the grave and the first step is to reduce emissions."

Colourful Coffins was set up by Ms Tomes in 2003 and specialises in producing caskets that can carry any design to order with favourites being animals, including polar bears.

The business has doubled year on year and now has an annual turnover approaching £750,000, employing 15 staff including three designers.