Toyota has been identified as the leading brand on environmental grounds by consultancy Interbrand, in its first ever Best Global Green Brands report. The automotive company was followed by 3M in second place, with Siemens taking the third spot.

The report bases its rankings on public perceptions of a brand’s environmental sustainability combined with demonstration of that performance. The automotive and electronic industries lead the way across sectors, due to their successful integration of perception (through communications) and performance.

The ranking is based on Interbrand’s 2010 Best Global Brands Report, the 2011 iteration of which is set to launch in October of this year. The strongest green brands make their sustainability practices relevant to their consumers and have a clear business case behind their implementation. They are also able to effectively measure and report on their green performance.

The gap between performance and perception caused some brands to slip in the rankings. L’Oreal, Nokia and HSBC all scored well for performance on sustainable issues, but their public perception doesn’t match up; while McDonald’s, GE, and Coca-Cola are perceived as being more green than their performance indicates.

The full top 50 can be found here.