The tourism industry requires a huge amount of natural resources and creates a huge environmental footprint. Yet the onus is always on the travel consumer to 'make better choices'. What does it look like when the hotels step up and commit to taking responsibility for their environmental footprint? This talk explains why the myth that becoming an environmentally responsible hotel is not profit friendly is totally wrong.

Last year was the first year the word 'overtourism’ made the dictionary. The press has been filled with stories about the pressure on places like Venice, Amsterdam, and Bali, and often it seems hopeless. However, there are clear solutions ready to be implemented and change doesn't have to take years.

Sean Nino is a development expert in the fields of energy, water and waste, with over eight years of experience in consulting and research for various clients in the Indonesian sustainable tourism and environmental property development sector. His passion lies within environmental sustainable systems design and methods that change and challenge our existing norms.

Sean is the co-founder of Eco Mantra, a team of engineers and specialists that collaborate with developers and architects to help them save environmental resources and ultimately drive down costs. He is also one of the main drivers behind the Merah Putih Hijau movement, which builds, operates and transfers community-owned material management facilities to communities around Bali.

Sean grew up in Bali and spent 12 years in Germany before moving back to Bali in 2013 to work on the problems he is passionate about.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx