A major environmental downside to travel is the carbon footprint it leaves but there are movements underway and things we can do individually to minimize this impact. One of the biggest polluters are airlines, which emit 3.5% of the world’s carbon emissions. While that might not seem like a big percentage, reducing emissions in this field is important, and sustainable aviation fuels are key.

The founders of MASS ended up taking what they learned at Harvard and melded that with what they learned working with locals in Rwanda. It prompted them to develop an ethos for all their projects: design beautiful buildings, help as many local people as possible, source local materials and labor, and provide smart, natural air flow for a healthier environment.

Living on an island means that local raw materials are finite, and part of wood craftsman Alex’s ethos is to reuse and repurpose discarded wood, whether it be windfall, landscaping waste, ocean flotsam and jetsam or off-cut wood. Chris, a designer of rope art, believes in sustainability wherever possible and repurposes discarded ropes that he finds in the ocean, as well as working with new ropes.