Spotlighting Travel + Leisure’s 2020 Global Vision Award Honorees

1. Greta Thunberg

Activist, environmentalist, and Time's 2019 Person of the Year, 17-year-old Greta Thunberg’s passionate pleas for the planet enlivened a new generation of climate activists all over the world. Her outspoken advocacy for the environment first caught the attention of the media after she bravely skipped school to protest in front of Swedish Parliament. Since then, Thunberg has spoken at the U.N., met with the Pope, sailed across the North Atlantic Ocean and inspired 4 million people to join 2019’s global climate strike, the largest climate demonstration in history.

With her straightforward, no-nonsense attitude, Thunberg has captured the attention of government leaders, urging them to address the climate crisis and the systematic inequalities it produces globally. But Thunberg is more than just an advocate for the environment. She is also greatly concerned with other issues, such as gun control, indigenous rights and democratic representation. Her message has given millions of kids and adults around the world hope that the future can be better. She is living proof that one person’s actions can make a positive difference in the world.

3. Julia Jackson

As a second-generation winemaker in Sonoma County, Julia Jackson has grown up with a deep appreciation for the land. With that appreciation, Jackson founded the summit and organization Grounded. Grounded’s annual summit in the northern California wine region brings together some of the world’s leading scientists, changemakers and creative minds to find solutions for the planet’s ongoing climate crisis. Speakers have included acclaimed chef Alice Waters, founder of 350.org Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author Paul Hawken, and even fellow Global Vision Award winner Daniela Fernandez of Sustainable Ocean Alliance, just to name a few. Sonoma is also slated to be the first ever completely sustainable wine region in the country, making it the perfect backdrop for positive environmental change. Through creating a thinktank for innovative and diverse forward thinking, Jackson has proven herself to be a true vanguard and steward of the environment.

Related: 11 Sustainable Stays in Sonoma

5. Villa Copenhagen

Determined to redefine the hospitality industry, Denmark’s stunning Villa Copenhagen has embraced sustainability as the future of the hotel business. Located in the country’s capital, Villa Copenhagen is an architectural masterpiece set in the historic Central Post & Telegraph Head Office. In addition to its breathtaking design, it has committed to all 17 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals to ensure full responsibility for its environmental footprint. The 390-room hotel’s moral approach to hospitality, dubbed “conscious luxury,” is best exemplified in its premiere room Earth Suite. Designed by Earth Studio, a partnership between architect Eva Harlou and internationally recognized furniture manufacturer Mater, the property’s Earth Suite is as environmentally conscious as it is stunning. The property is set to open later this spring.

7. Inkaterra

With 40 years of experience in sustainable tourism under its belt, Inkaterra’s success is no doubt a result of its deep respect for Peru’s nature and cultures. A true industry trailblazer, Inkaterra is the first Peruvian business to ever be certified carbon-neutral. The company has built a total of seven hotels all throughout the Peruvian wilderness four of which were awarded the title of Unique Ecolodges of the World by National Geographic with some located in the Andes Mountains, the Amazon rainforest and the infamous Machu Picchu.

Recognizing the important role Peru’s incredible landscapes and immense biodiversity play in his hotels’ success, Inkaterra’s founder and environmental enthusiast, Jose Koechlin and his team of naturalists have incorporated at least one facility built in the service of conservation and biology in all of his hotels. From a butterfly house at Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica, an eco-lodge in Puerto Maldonado, to Amazon’s first molecular-biology and genetics lab inside Tambopata National Reserve, Inkaterra is making great strides in embracing all the gifts the natural world has to offer. What’s more, Inkaterra’s website includes more educational information like birding and flowering calendars travelers can use when planning their wilderness excursions.

  9. African Parks

Founded in 2000 in response to the dramatic decline of protected areas due to poor management and lack of funding, African Parks has quickly become the first name in conservation throughout the continent. The non-profit takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of 17 national parks and protected areas in 11 countries in partnership with governments and local communities. Under African Parks’ management, the organization has seen parks previously decimated by poachers and locals hunting for bushmeat come back to life once again. An important aspect of park revitalization is improving local and surrounding communities. As African Park’s CEO Peter Fearnhead knows, “When wildlife survives and thrives there’s the opportunity for people to do so as well.” Through its business approach to conservation – creating jobs, education opportunities and cooperation with locals – the organization has created a more successful and sustainable operation model. About 90 percent of African Parks’ 5,214 employees come from nearby communities.

As of 2017, Prince Harry is amazingly the organization’s president. With this newfound high-profile support on its side, African Parks has generated more requests for their assistance. Just this month, the world’s largest terrestrial transfrontier conservation area, the Kavango Zambezi, was awarded 16.9 million euros by the Dutch Postcard Lottery. African Parks along with two other conservation non-profits will aid in its protection and continued conservation.