Interbrand brings joy third year in a row to Toyota, as the world’s leading consultancy together with Deloitte, a sustainability services group, have released their latest 3rd Annual Global Green Brands report. The Japanese car manufacturer continues to reign thanks to its Prius sub-brand which is a huge hit in the U.S., a refreshed RAV4 EV and numerous Eco projects in its home country. Combined with the brand’s aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy and water consumption as much as possible, the top spot came naturally for the 70-year-old brand. Placed second, Ford made one of the biggest leaps year due to the brand’s dedication to environmental sustainability and Eco-consciousness. Third spot belongs to another Japanese brand, Honda, which is a result of the brand’s diverse portfolio of alternative fuel vehicles and technologies, along with the “Earth Dreams Technology” engine which was introduced back in 2011. Nissan (#5), Volkswagen (#7), BMW (#13) and Mercedes-Benz (#17) are placed strong in the top 20 and each of them having achieved significant expansions in the Eco domain.

Besides Ford and Nissan, Nokia (#9), Samsung (#16) and UPC (#32) have been tagged as this year’s top risers, Nokia having the biggest leap as a tech brand – a factor which can be attributed to Eco awareness as the brand’s core business driver. Panasonic (#4) leads the pack of tech brands, while Adidas (#15) is ranked as the most Eco-friendly fashion brand. Four new entrants include Nestlé (#14), Kia (#37), ZARA (#48), and Colgate (#50), each of them placing importance on brand sustainability and promoting a healthy lifestyle and Eco products.

Compared to last year, Cisco (#28) had a huge plunge primarily to the fact that the brand hasn’t been spreading awareness at what it actually does. Two German brands, Siemens (#18) and Allianz (#43) have also been moved down on the report, with both companies struggling with negative consumer perception. It is also interesting to note that Apple (#22), which is placed second on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2012 report took a relatively big fall possibly because it hasn’t kept up with improving its environmental performance in contrast to other brands.

Jez Frampton, Global CEO of Interbrand commented on the unique and valuable performance and perception evaluation which the annual report supplies: “The report provides leading brands with the insights they need to develop robust strategies—strategies that will not only drive their businesses forward, but also have a positive impact on the environment and communities in which those businesses operate.” 

David Perason from Deloitte stressed the importance of sustainability: “Sustainability continues to assert itself on the business agenda. Customers and stakeholders are holding businesses more and more accountable for sustainability performance, and businesses are working hard to ensure that their external perception reflects their internal efforts. Leading global brands are thus showing increased focus and innovation in the sustainability realm—leading to improved programs and reporting.”

To read more about Interbrand’s report and to see how were the rest of brands evaluated, visit Best Global Green Brands 2013 website.