LodgeS/ResortS: Lenox Hotel, Boston
Environmental Initiatives: 73
Local Contributions: 71
Guest Experience: 61
Overall Score: 69
Ecotourism in the heart of a big city? That's no contradiction for the Lenox, a leader in such efforts since 1990, when it was the first North American hotel to institute a towel- and linen-reuse program. This August, the Lenox (with its three sister properties) became one of the first hotels to offset the carbon emissions of all its electricity usage. Unbeknownst to guests, the polyester upholstery is spun from recycled soda bottles, and fireplace logs are a cleaner-burning pressed variety. The hotel's Swan Fund for the Environment, established in 1992, has donated more than $180,000 to local and national organizations. Concern for humankind also ranks high: The Lenox has given $14 million for affordable housing in Boston and funds two college scholarships (617-536-5300; lenoxhotel.com; doubles, $308–$348).

Destination: Grootbos Nature Reserve, South Africa
Environmental Initiatives: 82
Local Contributions: 73
Guest Experience: 71
Overall Score: 76
No other tourism operation combines environmental and humanitarian aid as deftly as Grootbos. The owners of this 3,900-acre protected area, a hundred miles from Cape Town, run its two lodges and a neighboring non-profit Green Futures Horticulture and Life Skills College. All 23 graduates are now employed, and the college will soon be supported entirely by students' plant sales and landscaping projects. Part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, Grootbos includes such vividly named species as fire lilies and paintbrush flowers. Southern right whales breed just off the coast from June through December, and guests can walk or ride horses in the reserve year-round (27-28-384-8000; grootbos.co.za; doubles, $685, including meals).

Tour Operator: Cruise North Expeditions, Canada
Environmental Initiatives: 62
Local Contributions: 77
Guest Experience: 64
Overall Score: 68
You'll find no umbrella drinks or Wayne Newton revues on these cruises. What you will get are polar bear and whale sightings, millennia-old archaeological ruins, cold-water kayaking and diving, and firsthand insight into Inuit culture. With nine departures in July and August—plus a cleanup mission in an abandoned mining camp—this Inuit-owned company sails into Canada's extreme north. In the 2005 inaugural season, trainee Inuit and experienced "southern" guides led excursions to wildlife habitats and remote villages and lectured on global warming, Henry Hudson's search for the Northwest Passage, and Inuit life. This new interest in native culture even motivated one town to reopen a mothballed museum (866-263-3220; cruisenorthexpeditions.com; eight-day Baffin Adventure, $3,895–$4,795 per person).