KMC Savills at the NordCham Gala Awards

On March 23rd NordCham Philippines, the largest Nordic Chamber of Commerce in Asia, held its fourth Annual Awards Gala Night at Fairmont Hotel, Makati.

Highlighted at the awards were businesses who had provided a significant contribution to investment, economic growth, employment and corporate social responsibility. The awards were across four categories which included; Growth Company of the Year, Outstanding Employer of the Year, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Company of the Year and CSR Company of the Year.

KMC Savills Inc., a Nordcham premium member, was one of the major partners for the event. The award for SME Company of the Year (which was won by Tema Design) was presented by KMC Savills' Managing Director Michael McCullough."We are proud to have an ongoing and healthy relationship with the Nordic Chamber community. It is a well-recognized organisation that brings businesses and thought leaders together. The NordCham events are always highly enjoyable, there is always a good chance to socialise and network with our friends and business partners from across the world. It was an honor to present the award to Tema Design who deserved to win SME Company of the Year. The company's growth and quality of their unique fiberglass designs and products gave them recognition which made them this year's winners."

The winners and finalists for the awards this year were as follows:

• Outstanding Employer of the Year, presented by Banco de Oro (BDO)-Unibank: Nokia Technology Center Philippines (winner)
• Growth Company of the Year, presented by Regus Philippines: ISS Facility Services (winner); PacificTech Solutions and Sonion Philippines (finalists)
• SME Company of the Year, presented by KMC Savills: Tema Design (winner); B-Eye Solutions and GigaMare Inc. (finalists)
• CSR Company of the Year, presented by Habitat for Humanity: Maersk Group (winner); Grundfos IS and Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals (finalists)

"The award categories reflect some of the fundamental values that have made Nordic countries model economies globally. Through the awards, we want to highlight Nordic companies that are living by these values in their operations in the Philippines. We congratulate the winners and finalists for their efforts in their respective categories," NordCham Executive Director Joona Selin.

An independent board evaluated the nominations for the awards. This year's panel consisted of  Ambassador of Denmark to the Philippines Jan Top Christensen, Ambassador of Sweden to the Philippines Harald Fries, Honorary Consul Generals Ramon K. Ilusorio (Finland) and Carla S. Limcaoco (Sweden) and Perry L. Pe (Denmark), as well as President of Philippines-Norway Business Council Capt. Ivar Thomasli.

The event also featured a keynote talk on "Sustainability in the Heart of Business Strategy" by H&M Philippines's Henrik Nordvall. Nordic countries are often recognized global leaders when it comes to sustainability. In the case of H&M, this is exemplified by their mission: "Fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way". The firm strived to only use recycled or other sustainably sourced materials.

The NordCham Awards Night was held in partnership with BDO, KMC Savills Inc., Regus, Habitat for Humanity, Turkish Airlines, Fairmont Hotel Makati, RX International; Gold sponsors were Grundfos IS and Maersk; Silver sponsors were Arla Foods, Cricket Lighters, Hafele, Lauritzen Kosan, Nordea Private Banking Singapore, OSM Maritime Group, Pacific Cross, Saab, Sun Life Financial and The FreeFood Co.

Congratulations to NordCham Philippines for the successful gala event and to all the winners.