Blue Apple Beach House, Colombia

When I first met Portia Hart, a 30-something Brit from Bury St Edmunds, six years ago,  I was fascinated (and a little envious) of her plans for Blue Apple Beach, the 10 bedroom, chic-shack-style hotel/ beach club she had just opened on Tierra Bomba island, off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia. Six years on her little empire now includes a sustainable hotel shop, another beach club, a second hotel (the Townhouse in Cartagena), and the not-for-profit Green Apple Foundation, all of which have created around 300 much-needed local jobs.

Just as impressive are all the sustainability and recycling initiatives she has launched, such as converting used cooking oil into biofuel, diverting waste from landfill, building a recycling centre out of discarded bottles and coconuts, and upcycling glass waste. The hotels are not carbon neutral but they are aiming for BCorp certification as 70% of their water is re-used for irrigation, they run on solar power, and recycle 95% of their waste.