A survey into responsible business in the UK has recognised two Bradford-based companies in its top 100 firms.

The survey, the Corporate Responsibility Index, is conducted by Business in the Community and is regarded as the UK's leading benchmark for responsible business.

The index highlights firms which integrate and improve responsible business across their operations and provide a systematic approach to managing, measuring and reporting their impacts on society and the environment.

Of the 100 companies listed two are from Bradford, Hallmark PLC the greeting card manufacturer and Bradford & Bingley.

Hallmark, originally an American firm, established the UK division of its business in Bradford in 1958. Hallmark UK employs over 3,000 people and produces approximately two billion cards per year.

A spokesman for Hallmark said they were delighted to have been included in the top 100 ethical firms.

"We have had a strong push towards becoming more corporately responsible and that fits in with our core values of enriching lives and relations," she said.

"In particular we are very strong on climate change and are working towards being carbon neutral. Being a paper organisation we focus very much on this, using recyled paper and water based inks.

"We recently received an award from the Forestry Sustainability Council for our adherence to the use of sustainable forestry.

Fifty per cent of Hallmark UK product comes from the UK with the other half coming from the Far East and Poland.

"We are concerned to ensure that our employees have proper conditions and that no child labour is used in any of our factories. Whilst we have a strong policy on UK employment we also have a duty to all our employees and audit our suppliers every six months."

She said that the index was an excellent indicator of where the company was at but also where it needed to improve.

Bradford & Bingley has reduced its carbon emissions by 70 per cent, a move which the firm argues makes good business as well as ethical sense.

A spokesman for their Corporate and Social Responsibility division said: "Corporate responsibility is very much part of our ethos but it is also becoming more and more apparent that investors, both companies and individuals feel it is very important when deciding where to invest. In that sense it is also a business led decision.

"Bradford & Bingley have invested in three schemes designed to offset our emissions; tree planting, methane capping in the United States and windfarms in New Zealand, which has allowed us to reduce our emissions by 70 per cent. We have also introduced schemes for our staff such as car sharing and devices installed in the toilets at all branches which reduce water waste from flushing. In addition all the materials used in the refurbishment of our branches are environmentally friendly."