FORBES, 21st May: Vestas Wind Systems, has just won high praise from New York's Reputation Institute, which has just published global reputation rankings of 600 companies, for improving its reputation. Vestas has jumped 25 places for 2007 from 2006 to become the 17th most reputable company in their universe.

To paraphrase the article . . .

This has been put down to the late flowering of a merger with NEG Micon which didn't work out well in 2004/2005. Since then, a new CEO and senior leadership team have been put in place and last year was the first time the company turned a profit. Said Kruse, Vice-President of Vestas Communications, the company has also benefited from a global media strategy--instead of focusing communication efforts on Danish media, it's reaching out to the international media. The company was recently featured in Newsweek, CNN and Bloomberg Television.

Ok, well that secures Kruse's job then !

Seriously though, I have my doubts about global reputation rankings because unlike profits or losses, a reputation is not actually something you can put a black and white number on. Could you imagine a blue chip accountancy firm doing a reputation audit?

And I'm not too sure about Gazprom - the state-owned Russian hydrocarbon firm and arguably the right arm of President Putin's foreign policy - jumping 289 places to rank 28th in the world for 2007.

Investment may be an art rather than a science, but reputation is a truly intangible, immeasurable asset. I could just see disproportionate lobbying by PR firms really distorting the picture, which of course they would love to do. My feeling is that alternative energy companies - like any other - would do best to concentrate on making profits. After all, why would any company not choose to have a good reputation?