LONDON: Toyota, Ford and Honda have topped the Interbrand 2013 list of 50 Best Global Green Brands, with Nissan and Volkswagen also appearing in the top ten.

The brand consultancy looked at the gap that exists between a company's environmental performance, as assessed by Deloitte, and public perception of the brand's green credentials, produced by Interbrand's consumer research.

Toyota, leading the list for the third year running, continues to dominate the hybrid market with its Prius model. Carmakers that created innovative products to prove their commitment to sustainability, as Ford did with EcoBoost and Nissan with LEAF, benefited accordingly in consumer perception.

Toyota went further, however, examining the future of mobility by developing a low carbon community called the Toyota Ecoful Town in Toyota City.

"What makes the annual Best Global Green Brands report unique and valuable is that it examines performance and perception in action," said Jez Frampton, Global Chief Executive Officer of Interbrand. This, he added, enabled corporations to plan strategies to move forward.

The technology category dominated the overall report with 12 brands appearing. Panasonic was the most prominent, at fourth, offering innovative, eco and smart solutions said Interbrand.

David Pearson, head of global sustainability at Deloitte's, noted that sustainability issues continued to rise up the business agenda.

Nowhere was this more clear than with clothing and retail companies, with the report noting that social media communities were keeping a close eye on factory safety throughout the world in the light of the Bangladesh factory collapse.

Adidas (15th on the list), Nike (31st), H&M (42nd) and Zara (48th) were the top apparel brands, and all are using supply chain reform not just to cut costs, as before, but to make a statement to consumers about what they stand for.

Data sourced from Interbrand; additional content by Warc staff,