SSE has become the first FTSE-100 company to be awarded the Fair Tax Mark.

The campaign for businesses to adopt a more responsible attitude to tax said the accreditation of the UK's second-largest energy supplier "creates a new era for fairer tax in the UK which means that more consumers can now choose to support an organisation that pursues responsible tax behaviour".

Launched in February 2014, the Fair Tax Mark is the world's first independent accreditation process for identifying companies "making a genuine effort to be open and transparent about their tax affairs".

Richard Murphy, director of the Fair Tax Mark, said: "As was the case with Fairtrade and other successful ethical standards, we anticipate that the accreditation of a major FTSE-100 company will prove to be a game-changer for the reporting of responsible tax planning in the UK."

He said SSE had set a new benchmark for transparency and disclosure in the reporting of the tax affairs of a large UK company with international operations.

"Corporation tax avoidance costs the UK economy billions a year - money that is needed to support vital health, education and social security services in this country."

Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE, said: "As a provider of an essential service SSE firmly believes it has a responsibility to contribute to the societies in which it operates. Paying the appropriate amount of tax is core to this; and we are determined to abide by both the spirit and letter of the UK's tax regulations."

Margaret Hodge MP, chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, said she hoped other companies would follow SSE's example.