European Sustainability Academy

The first of its kind in Europe the "European Sustainability Academy" (EΣA) is a purpose built residential seminar and conference facility on the Greek island of Crete (see about Crete). EΣA is a Sustainable Business and Corporate Responsibility (CSR) international centre for management and leadership teaching and business management research.
This unique centre for sustainable business teaching and learning has been constructed as a fully sustainable building (see sustainable building) with an architecturally elegant design, which uses only renewable energy. EΣA was constructed during 2011 using a combination of Greek and UK expertise to design and build it. Where possible all building materials were sourced from within Greece to support the principles of both broader sustainability and the local economy. The location of EΣA is a stunning 8000 m2 ancient olive grove in the rural, hilltop Cretan village of Drapanos. Drapanos hill is a protected NATURA 2000 area to preserve its natural beauty, flora and fauna for future generations.
The European Sustainability Academy eco-buildings are located across 2 beautiful plots of land, comprising of a state of the art ecological training centre and an accommodation building (scheduled for completion during 2013). The conference centre seminar room and dining room can accommodate 50 people and the accommodation building will have 10 bedrooms for multiple day experiential workshops and executive retreats.
The academy has been designed to compliment the natural landscape so that the learning spaces are interlinked between the ecological building and the natural environment. The combination of indoor and outdoor learning spaces give the feeling of a natural ‘agora’, or places of assembly for learning and debate.

The purpose of E∑A is to provide teaching and research, for local and international businesses, in the areas of: