For all the net-zero pledges across the travel industry, tangible climate progress remains rare. Skift set out to highlight the travel-industry leaders delivering real solutions — not just talking about it.

Some examples: Hotel executives securing renewable energy contracts that prevent thousands of tons of CO2 annually. Engineers developing drag-reducing aircraft coatings already in use.

Each one represents a pathway toward a lower-carbon travel future, whether through technology breakthroughs, corporate transformation, community-driven models, or policy change.

Our list, which draws on our ongoing reporting on climate issues, focuses on recent achievements and meaningful action underway now, with the aim of inspiring the cross-sector collaboration needed to scale it.

The developer behind Hotel Marcel, a Hilton property in Connecticut, Becker transformed former IKEA offices into the first U.S. hotel powered entirely by renewable energy.