Waitrose takes silver in consumers' green list

The supermarket chain came second in the overall list of green brands, just behind the Body Shop at number one.

Of the other grocery retailers on the list, Tesco was next, in fifth place, ahead of rivals Marks & Spencer in sixth, Sainsbury's in eighth position, and Asda at number 11.

UK consumers felt Tesco had done more than any other company in the top 20 to become greener over the last five years.

Overall, grocery was ranked as the second greenest industry, with body care at number one.

The 2007 ImagePower Green Brands Survey was conducted by branding consultancy Landor Associates, research agency Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates and PR firm Cohn & Wolfe.

The UK survey of 1,525 British adults showed that 8 in 10 consumers pay attention to an environmentally-friendly company, but that despite this, cost is still a fundamental issue in the purchase of green products.

Key findings included:

- Green brands are perceived as higher quality, driving more non-users to start considering the brands

- Global Warming is considered the biggest man-made threat to society

Top 20 UK green brands:

1. The Body Shop
2. Smart
3. Waitrose
4. The Co-operative Bank
5. Tesco
6. Marks & Spencer
7. Dyson
8. Sainsbury's
9. BP
10. Aveda
11. Asda
12. Toyota
13. Virgin Atlantic
14. Nivea
15. Shell
16. Indesit
17. Npower
18. Bosch
19. Google
20. Eurostar

Industry ranking by greenness:

1. Body care
2. Grocery
3. Appliances
4. Automotive
5. Energy/Petroleum
6. Banking
7. Online Technology
8. Travel