Swedish construction and development giant Skanska has been named as the greenest company in the UK by the Sunday Times newspaper, which ranked the firm first in all categories of its 2011 Best Green Companies Awards.

British Land has been recognised by the Sunday Times as one of the best green companies in the UK, moving up 29 places to number 22 on the Top 60 ranking.

The Sunday Times Best Green Companies survey not only takes into account the measurement and targets of a company's environmental performance but also the views of its employees who ensure that good environmental policies and practices are embedded into day-to-day business operations.

British Land has invested significantly in its environmental programmes and initiatives - efforts which have led to a number of prestigious green certifications: Carbon Trust Standard, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4Good Index.

Other initiatives achieved by British Land over the last year have included 15% less energy use and 14% less water use across its property portfolio than its baseline two years ago saving the company and its occupiers almost £1 mln and cutting carbon emissions by 6,700 tonnes.