British bus companies have a better ethical record than new-tech giants Apple and Google, according to a global-sustainability league table published today.

FirstGroup, the UK’s biggest bus operator, was named the second best in the world for social, environmental and governance, while the Go-Ahead Group was the 10th best globally.

The German sportswear manufacturer Puma – rated the global leader – British drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline and the electronics maker Philips came out well in the report, by the responsible investment research service Eiris.

By contrast, US tech giants Apple and Google received low scores.

Ahead of the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June, Eiris examined the ethical record of all the 2,063 companies in the FTSE All-World Developed Index of large companies, giving them an A-to-E grading.

Among the world’s 50 biggest companies, all four given the lowest E grade were – perhaps unsurprisingly – oil and gas producers: ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Occidental.

However, there were also low grades for businesses popular with Western consumers, most notably Apple and Google, which both received D grades.

Source – independent