Il ruolo della Bandiera Arancione per la valorizzazione dei piccoli comuni dell’entroterra

The main purpose of this paper was to determine the extent to which environmental awards may help enhancing the small-towns heritage. Focus was set on the Orange Flag to understand if municipalities properly take advantage of the award both in their communication policies and in the sustainable development of their territory. The survey was based on a questionnaire (CAWI method) forwarded to the 2014 Orange Flag municipalities in the Marche region. The research revealed that municipalities do not take full advantage of the possibilities provided by the award mainly in terms of co-branding and stakeholders’ involvement. Even if they recognize great validity to the programme, the findings raised in this paper suggest a more efficient use of the award. In particular, a better use of co-branding policies and a wider sharing of sustainability issues are suggested.