The list, compiled by research company Innovest, compares companies to their sector peers from the MSCI World Index and assesses them for their capacity to address their sector-specific environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities.

Its stated aim is, "To raise questions about the role of the corporation in society, to add momentum to sincere corporate sustainability initiatives and to help the public see corporations in a broader sense."

This years' list includes Ericsson, Nokia, Hewlett-Packard, Agilent Technologies, Canon, Ricoh, Intel, STMicroelectronics and SAP.

Ricoh's quality and environment manager, Neville Cooper, said the IT industry has probably been a victim of its own success.

"Phenomenal growth and advancements in technology has resulted in a churn and burn situation. Suppliers have had to work quickly just to keep up with demand and technological advances. Unfortunately, this has left little time to work out how to manage the 'burn' side of the equation," he said.