Large hotel chains and resorts have been ramping up their recycling and sustainability efforts to reduce or eliminate resource and energy consumption.

In honor of Earth Day, The New York Times looked at four ways—saving coral reefs, energy and water conservation, preserving food and repurposing waste and creating eco-minded communities—that hotels and resorts around the globe are addressing climate concerns.

The New York Times has more details:

With rising sea levels, higher carbon dioxide levels and plastic bottles glutting landfills and oceans, the issue of sustainability has become a hot topic. Hotels and resorts have started to act by ramping up efforts to reduce or eliminate completely their resource and energy consumption.

“If big hotels can make small changes, the ripple can be huge,” said Paula Vlamings, chief executive of Tourism Cares, a nonprofit that works with travel operators to mitigate tourism’s environmental impact. “Sustainability is more than energy conservation or recycling; it is about sustaining communities for the tourism product.”

While Marriott International and other large chains have promised to eliminate items that never fully decompose, like plastic straws, there is still a lot more work to be done.

Read the full article here.