Eco-School
Empower students to take action and make schools greener and sustainable today
Young adults holding the earth
Make your school greener - Eco-Schools projects, ideas, and green flag guide
Eco-Schools is an official environmental education program run by Keep Britain Tidy, open to all educational settings from nurseries to colleges. Its goal is to engage and empower children and young adults, inspiring them to learn about the environment and take practical action to protect it.
Earning Green Flag status
To achieve Green Flag status, schools follow a Seven Step structure each academic year:
- Form an eco-group of students supported by a coordinator
- Review current environmental practices and create action plans for three chosen topics (e.g., Water, Waste, Energy, Biodiversity, Transport, Litter, School Grounds, Marine Life, Healthy Living, Global Citizenship)
- Integrate topics into the curriculum across different year groups
- Communicate the plan to the school and community
- Monitor and assess progress, noting lessons learned for the future
- Create an Eco-Code reflecting achievements and commitments to protect the environment
Simple steps to make schools more sustainable
Even if full Eco-School accreditation isn’t feasible, schools can take practical steps to become greener:
- Separate waste for recycling to strive for zero landfill
- Set up composting areas for food waste to support science lessons, school gardens, or fundraising
- Organise litter-picking teams to patrol school grounds regularly
- Design energy-saving posters to remind staff and pupils to switch off lights, taps, and devices
- Audit the school site for fixes like leaking taps or opportunities to install water butts and timers
- Join “walk to school” initiatives to reduce traffic and emissions
- Invite guest speakers to teach about recycling, reuse, repair, healthy living, and community impact
We’d love to hear about your school’s eco-projects. Get in touch to share achievements and inspire other schools!