Green Flag Award
The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, who also administers the scheme in England.The scheme was managed by Civic Trust, on MHCLG's behalf, until they lost the contract and the charity went bust in 2009.The scheme's aim is to promote standards of good management and best-practice amongst the green space sector.It is described by its issuers, Keep Britain Tidy, as an "internationally recognised award that is a benchmark for well-managed green space".[3] While public parks make up most of the awardees, the Green Flag Award is also issued to sites with different uses, such as Loughborough University and Bluewater Shopping Centre, for the management of their grounds.