A NEWTON Aycliffe company has been rated one of the best in the country in a performance league table.

3M, which employs about 350 people at its Aycliffe plant, has been named as one of the top "companies that count" in this year's Corporate Responsibility Index.

The index is compiled by the organisation Business in the Community.

The company was runner-up in the Index rankings for its business sector, for those with UK manufacturing sites.

It was rated in the top 40 companies overall.

About 500 companies had been invited to take part in the index, which measured the impact they have on society and the environment.

The results are published in the Sunday Times newspaper.

3M is one of the world's largest innovative companies and manufactures respiratory protection products for worker safety, as well as environmental protection materials, at its Aycliffe site.

3M UK and Ireland managing director Jim Maskas said: "3M's participation in the index clearly demonstrates that we believe our reputation depends not just on our financial performance but also the ways in which our business operates.

"We are delighted to have achieved such a good ranking."

David Varney, chairman of Business in the Community, said: "By participating in the index, all these companies have shown leadership in the open and transparent way in which they manage, measure and report.

"They are at the vanguard of the business community demonstrating by example what it means to be a company that counts."

3M recently gained high rankings in a Financial Times survey to find the world's most respected companies. It was in the top three consumer goods companies worldwide.

The rankings for the Index and background to the results can be found on the Business in the Community website www.bitc.org.uk