Leading article: If only Apple could be more like Puma

Any hope that the 21st-century, high-tech corporate giants might be more ethically aware than their older, dirtier cousins has been sadly scotched.

According to the latest ranking of more than 2,000 companies based on their social and environmental records, Google (company slogan: "don't be evil") and Apple (almost as much a lifestyle choice as a technology company) score only one grade above oil companies.

Avid Gmailers and iPad fans need not entirely despair, however. Britain's FirstGroup made it into second place on the global list despite being a bus company.

And Puma, which tops the league, was, just a few years ago, a name associated more with sweatshops than ethics. The company's transformation just shows what can be achieved with some commitment from the top. It can only be hoped that Google and Apple make similar efforts.