In 2004, Tom Horton, an experienced resort and residential developer and life-long dreamer of a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable world, formed Canopy Development with the goal of transforming the resort development industry. Having worked closely with and for international conservation organizations over many decades, Tom often observed significant damage was being done to the surrounding natural environment and the cultural fabric that defined a place when a new resort was being developed. The air and water was being polluted, wildlife habitats were being degraded and buildings were housing guests that emitted toxins into the air. Worst of all, opportunities to enrich the guest experience, connect to local communities, and regenerate the local environment were being overlooked. At Canopy, we saw this as a significant opportunity to make profound improvements in the way a traveler experiences a place and to diminish the impacts these travelers have on the natural environment. And not only diminish those impacts, but to establish a model in which they actually become the mechanism by which successful conservation is achieved.