Centrica, E.ON Energy, EDF Energy and RWE npower are market ‘leaders’ among companies offering sustainable energy, claims a new report.

The Green Quadrant report, by independent analyst firm Verdantix, compared 13 utility companies operating in the UK on their ability to help customers become more sustainable. They were judged on their innovation, service and the provision of sustainable energy supply.

EDF Energy was highlighted because of its commitment to reduce its CO2 emissions from electricity production by 60% by 2020 compared with 2006, while npower won a place in the top four because the head its sustainability programme reports directly to the CEO.

Strategic investment in sustainability also counted, with the report mentioning E.ON’s wave, tidal and sustainable gas projects, and Centrica’s accelerated smart meter roll-out plan.

Vanessa O’Connell, author of the report said that sustainability was increasingly important to companies for a number of reasons: “Seventy three per cent of our customer panel said that carbon and energy management was the major sustainability issue for their firm.

“Rising energy prices and the Carbon Reduction Commitment are driving firms to increase spending on energy efficiency, energy management technology and climate change advisory services. Meanwhile, feed-in-tariffs incentivise increased spend on renewable energy installation.”

Many of the larger energy firms have been ploughing money into sustainable measures in order to meet greater demand, she added: “Over the last five years some of the largest power utilities in the UK have invested heavily in service development and are positioned to meet new demands for sustainability and energy services.”