Property and infrastructure company Lendlease has been ranked as the most sustainable firm in the construction sector.

That’s according to the NextGeneration report, an annual benchmark which addresses the sustainability performance of the 25 largest homebuilders in the UK.

It points out Lendlease’s commitment to sustainability with projects such as The Timberyard in Deptford and Elephant Park, with the latter aiming to be “climate positive” by 2025 and will create the largest new park in central London.

Chrest Nicholson, which has been ranked in second place, is said to have a “forward-looking integrated sustainability strategy” embedded into business operations and also started the ‘Make Waste History’ campaign.

It is followed by Barratt Homes, which aims to create a net positive impact by 2020 and is said to have the highest score of national housebuilders in the 2016 Carbon Disclosure Project.

Companies Avant Homes, Morris Homes and Ballymore are at the bottom of the list.

The report also states the sector’s strongest performance is in designing and integrating a sustainable strategy into their buildings but it is weaker in reducing construction waste.

The report by Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) and The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) adds the sector still has challenges to face towards innovation and collaboration to boost sustainability into the home building industry.

Julie Hirigoyen, Chief Executive at UK-GBC said: “The companies featured in the leading rankings of the 2016 NextGeneration benchmark demonstrate that building high quality developments is not just possible, it is core to what they do.

“There remains a significant gap between leaders and laggards which the industry must address if it’s to meet the pressing sustainability challenges ahead.”