Virtually everything in the world can be rated, being that success of leading global companies, creativity, Facebook popularity or support for LGBT community. YouGov BrandIndex has conducted a survey, asking U.S. citizens, who identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, to say which brands are best perceived by them. Google’s YouTube tops the list of twenty companies, which also includes Google, Disney, Ford, Apple and M&M’s. Surprisingly enough, the ranking doesn’t feature ABSOLUT, known for its long-standing commitment to help LGBT representatives feel better by launching a range of initiatives (Gay Theatre Festival is just one of them) as well as other vodka or beer drinks.

Following the ‘green path’ usually implies keeping to just one major regulation: being as good as possible to nature. But since brands should think about profits as well and consider people’s opinion about their eco-friendly products and approaches, as long as everything they do is primarily done for consumers, shoppers’ feedback is one of the major tools shaping the environmental principles of companies. Earlier this month, the ImagePower Global Green Brands Study, the largest in its 5-year history—was presented by Cohn & Wolfe, Esty Environmental Partners and Penn Schoen Berland—the study reveals current consumers’ attitude to green products and shows how it has changed over the past years.

Today, as the sustainability factor has come to the forefront, packaging seems to be as important as product itself that’s why global companies and local businesses spend much time and money on developing new solutions to make wrapping materials and containers ‘greener.’ There’s no need to explain why packaging, green by its nature (made of traditional materials like glass and paper) is much better to environment than those made of plastic and foam. According to the report released by Owens-Illinois (O-I), the world’s largest glass container maker for major brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Heinz, MillerCoors and S. Pellegrino, people in the U.S. prefer to buy grocery in glass containers, the most natural, safe and good to nature since it’s 100% recyclable and helps preserve the original taste of products.

Which is more efficient: to have a permanent workplace and rigid schedule or to be able to decide when and where to work? Microsoft Corp has approached Vanson Bourne, a specialist research-led consultancy, which carries out user research within a technology context, with a task to find that out—the study was conducted among 1,500 workers in 15 European countries and provides a number valuable insights into the problem of creating ‘a new world of work.’

Sustainable Brands ’11 provided an early look at results from the 2011 ImagePower  Global Green Brands study, one of the largest global consumer surveys of green brands and corporate environmental responsibility. The results were released on Wednesday and will be discussed in depth on Friday, June 10 during ‘The Unfolding Green Brands Landscape: Notes on the Trendline’ presentation.