Held October 10, 2007 in New York City, the Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Congress 2007 brought together industry leaders from companies including Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Fairmont, Four Seasons, Regent Cruises, Air France, and Linblad Expeditions to explore issue surrounding travel and social responsibility. Here is Editor in Chief Klara Glowczewska's opening remarks.

Condé Nast Traveler was started 20 years ago on the principle of "truth in travel.' This meant no freebies, no press trips; we would be independent of the travel industry. Our first obligation would be to our readers. We would report on the world as we saw it. The environment has always been a part of this. For instance, for the past 18 years, we have given out an environmental award to individuals who are fighting to preserve the natural integrity of their homeland and by so doing, improve the lives of their communities. As our 20th year approached, we felt the need to do something more. We had our "truth in travel" mission, we had our commitment to the environment. But what else should the magazine stand for, going forward?

The answer became quite clear when we considered developments in the travel industry–and in the world at large. Business everywhere–and especially the travel business–is booming. Just look at the growth in hotels and resorts, in cruise lines and airlines; at the number of people traveling and at the resources they're willing to commit to this. That's the good news.

The bad news is that this worldwide prosperity has coincided with much bleaker global developments: environmental destruction, poverty, health catastrophes, religious and ethnic strife, failing educational systems. One in four people who will die this coming year will do so from AIDS/HIV, Tuberculosis, Malaria–or from something as ordinary as dirty drinking water. More than 100 million children in poor countries do not attend school. About half the people in the world still live on less than two dollars a day. (This while many of us think nothing of paying hundreds of dollars a night for a hotel room.) But all the experts agree that it is not yet too late.

Governments, of course, must play a role. They are the only ones who can set and enforce rules–for example, on co2 emissions. But this is an "all hands on deck" moment. Individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations–we all can make a difference.

What does this have to do with the travel industry, and with this magazine? I would argue: a lot. First of all, on the individual level, travel really affects people. It changes them, it inspires them; it opens their eyes. Journeys, especially to developing countries, create global citizens who understand that there is no "us" and "them." That dire conditions "over there" are not only in and of themselves unacceptable, but affect all our futures.

Then there's the travel industry. I see its power as twofold. First, it is a vehicle of enlightenment: you make it possible for us to see the world. Second, you are a potential agent of global change.

You hold the keys not just to rooms, but to your customers' broader experiences. And your policies have an immediate and lasting impact: your policies toward the environment, and also toward the health, education, and economic betterment of your employees. What you do–and don't do–matters. The travel industry has tremendous collective clout. If the industry as a whole decided to go carbon neutral, it would reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 6%. That's just one example of hundreds.