EXPRESS delivery giant TNT, which has a base at Hartlebury, near Kidderminster, has been recognised as one of the UK's most generous and caring companies, following its inclusion in a list of the country's most charitable businesses.

The business-to-business specialists at Hartlebury Trading Estate feature in an elite group of 127 enterprises which donate at least one per cent of their pre-tax profits to worthy causes.

This qualifies each company to feature in the PerCent Standard - a list of top corporate benefactors complied by Business in the Community (BITC).

The recognition is designed to encourage commercial organisations to embrace the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility and put something back into the communities in which business and industry operates. As the only company within its sector to qualify for the PerCent Standard, TNT takes its corporate social responsibilities very seriously.

The company forges partnerships with charities that focus on the personal development of young people and organisations that rely on effective transport networks. In 2004/05 TNT donated £640,657 to charity and, in so doing, earned its place in the BITC roll of honour.

TNT is a key supporter of children's charity, the Wooden Spoon, which supports disabled and disadvantaged youngsters in the UK and has donated well over £1.4m in recent years to help improve the quality of life for tens of thousands of young people throughout Britain. This is in addition to the sums considered by the BITC for membership of the PerCent Standard.

On the international stage, TNT in the UK supports the partnership between its parent company - TPG - and the United Nations' World Food Programme.

Special events in 2005 raised more than £70,000 for the WFP, as the company builds on its reputation as a good corporate citizen.

Adrian Avery, TNT Depot General Manager at Worcester, said: "Corporate social respon-sibility is a must in the modern business world and we take our responsibilities very seriously. We forge partnerships with charities that focus on the personal development of young people and with organisations that rely on effective transport networks."