At the Nordic-Philippine Business Awards 2026, four companies were recognized for applying Nordic values in a Philippine setting.
The awards highlighted leadership across sustainability, digital innovation, diversity, and community impact. Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), NNIT Digital & Life Sciences Philippines Inc., Maersk FiliPinas Inc., and Varacco Inc. were each honored for their work.
After the ceremony, the winners joined a panel discussion on how these values shape real business decisions.
For NNIT, trust in technology is non-negotiable, especially in sensitive sectors such as pharmaceuticals.
“Even if it’s AI driven, the AI that we develop must be explainable, traceable and repeatable. So we have not just the trust from a human side, but we also embed those trust in technology, which is the basis for major decisions,” said Pio Consuelo III, General Manager of NNIT Digital & Life Sciences Philippines Inc.
In the banking sector, BPI emphasized that transparency is essential to maintaining public confidence, particularly when it comes to sustainability-linked finance.
“Greenwashing is a very big issue, especially in financial institutions, many corporates. And it’s very important for us to make sure that whenever we issue green bonds or social bonds, that our investors know that the money we put into the bonds that we issue, that they go really to truly responsible activities,” said Clive Wee Sit, Portfolio and Loans Management Head at Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).
At Maersk, the focus is on turning diversity from policy into measurable change in a traditionally conservative industry.
“When we set about doing some of these initiatives, nobody believed that it could actually result in real change. But today we are seeing that change where we have close to 8% women of our total workforce, whereas the global percentage is less than 2%,” said Swapnil Walunjkar, Director at Maersk FiliPinas Inc.
The discussions reflected a shared theme: Nordic values are not abstract ideals, but practical tools shaping decisions in finance, technology, logistics, and community development across the Philippines.
