A coffin maker has topped the list of the country's green companies

A coffin manufacturer has topped the Sunday Times' first "Green List" for environmentally-friendly companies.

J C Atkinson and Sons, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, won top spot in the competition for a series of green measures including making its coffins from wood from sustainable forests.

The firm, which produces 60,000 coffins a year and has 10% of the UK market, also saves 50,000 litres of water a year by collecting rainwater from the factory roof and has installed a biomass generator using waste wood to produce power.

Construction company Carillion came second overall in the guide to the 50 companies with the most radically improved environmental performances, while Co-operative Financial Services came third.

The other companies making the top 10 in the Sunday Times Green List, published this Sunday, are Uckfield-based printing firm Pureprint, construction giant Skanska UK, HBOS, Loughborough Students Union, Saint-Gobain Glass UK from Goole, East Yorkshire, MCM Architecture, London and the National Magazine Company.