At the Swedish Perspectives in Energy Efficiency forum in Manila, Swedish tech leaders SKF and Atlas Copco showcased solutions designed to help Philippine factories modernize operations, reduce power consumption, and extend equipment life.

Swedish Ambassador Anna Ferry framed the partnership as both economic and strategic.

“Energy efficiency is a critical factor for competitiveness and resilience. Sweden’s experience shows that industrial modernization and sustainability can go hand in hand. We are long term partners with the Philippines sharing this expertise,” she said.

A study by Business Sweden shows the Philippines’ industrial sector, particularly food and beverage and manufacturing, accounts for around 80% of industrial energy use, making it the country’s largest untapped opportunity for efficiency upgrades.

Despite strong policies under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, adoption has been slow due to financing gaps and fragmented demand. Swedish firms said they can help address these hurdles through investment-grade audits, aggregated procurement, and financing models tied to power savings.

Representing Swedish industry, SKF’s Jesus Christopher Chan noted that customer expectations have evolved.

“Today, customers care for more than financial gains and Return On Investment—they expect integrated solutions that reduce energy use, extend equipment life, and support circularity, helping them achieve both performance and sustainability goals,” he said.

Atlas Copco’s George Lapat echoed this, saying, “Adapting our solutions to deliver value by embedding sustainability and circularity and aligning our goals to the customer’s own sustainability journey creates lasting partnership and impact.”

Government, industry push ‘green shift’ in procurement

Officials from the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance stressed the need to embed sustainability in both public and private procurement.

“The Department of Energy is steadfast in driving energy efficiency as a national priority… but real impact comes when government and industry work hand in hand to implement solutions on the ground,” said DOE Director Patrick Aquino.

Alliance president Alexander Ablaza emphasized the crucial role of energy service companies, saying, “Energy Service Companies are the backbone of the efficiency market. They bring technical expertise and financing solutions, allowing businesses to pay for upgrades through the savings they generate.”

Sweden invests 3.5% of its GDP in R&D, 70% of which comes from the private sector, fueling global leadership in clean energy, mobility, and industrial efficiency technologies. Through Team Sweden initiatives, Stockholm aims to deepen its role in the Philippines’ decarbonization and competitiveness agenda.

Sweden and the Philippines have maintained diplomatic ties since 1947, with trade, investment, and sustainable development forming a growing pillar of cooperation.

Minister Andreas Carlson is leading the Swedish government’s transport, infrastructure, community planning and housing efforts.

Mr. Marcus Wallenberg is a prominent Swedish business leader and a member of the influential Wallenberg family. His contributions span various sectors, including banking, industry, and research. Some of the most important holdings in the Philippines are ABB, AstraZeneca, Atlas Copco, Electrolux, Epiroc, Ericsson, Husqvarna, Nasdaq, Saab AB, and SKF. This is Mr. Wallenberg’s second visit to Manila this year.

Minister Carlson and Mr. Wallenberg met with Finance Secretary Ralph G Recto and participated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on export financing and development cooperation between Sweden and the Philippines. This MOU will enable Swedish grants and export credits for projects in the Philippines.

“Sweden is committed to further increasing its bilateral relationship with the Philippines, not least given the government’s Focus Asia strategy. The economic and strategic links between our regions are undeniable. The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding on export financing represents yet another step in the deepening of cooperation between Sweden and the Philippines,” said Minister Carlson.

“I am proud to take our collaboration to the next level. We entered another agreement that will enhance the economic security of Filipinos through increased access to Swedish financing for our development initiatives,” said Secretary Recto.

“With this partnership, the Philippines will have a greater opportunity to invest in more projects that matter most to our people.

With this broad range of development areas, Sweden is certainly one of the Philippines’ strongest poverty-fighting allies, helping us build an inclusive economy for our citizens,” he adds.

Minister Carlson and Mr. Wallenberg also met with Acting Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque of the Department of Trade and Industry explored trade and investment partnerships between the two countries. Both sides expressed strong support for the recently restarted negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and the Philippines.

Minister Carlson and Mr. Wallenberg discussed regional security issues and cooperation in the defense sector with Senior Undersecretary Irineo C. Espino of the Department of National Defense.

Furthermore, Minister Carlson and Mr. Wallenberg met with several business leaders in the country to explore partnerships in areas such as transportation, digitalization, health, and responsible mining.

Joined by a business delegation, Minister Carlson paid a visit to Secretary Ivan Uy of the Department of Information and Communication Technology and discussed possibilities for cooperation on digitalization in the Philippines.

More than the meatballs, shrimp sandwiches, cheese, Swedish sandwich cakes, and more, the celebration of Team Sweden in the Philippines, marked a significant milestone — that of its 500^th anniversary as an independent kingdom and nation.

Speaking during the celebration of Swedish National Day, Her Excellency Swedish Ambassador to the Philippines Annika Thunborg took pride in the unique characteristics of Sweden as a country that espouses openness, inclusion, innovation, sustainability, and the spirit of collaboration.

The ambassador also celebrated the longstanding friendship between Sweden and the Philippines, and highlighted the remarkable contributions of Swedish companies to fostering this relationship.

These Swedish enterprises include H&M, renowned for its high-quality styles and commitment to sustainability; IKEA with its record-breaking flagship store opened in 2021, and the likes of SAAB, Scania Trucks and Buses, Transcom, Atlas Copco, Volvo Cars, Volvo Buses, Trucks and Construction Equipment, Electrolux, Swedish Match, Ericsson, Retail Associates, Hitachi Energy, ABB, SKF, and Tetra Pak, among other notable names.

“While our countries are located on opposite sides of the world, despite the great geographical distance, there is plenty that binds us together and many commonalities between our regions,” the ambassador said.

“Every year our relationship strengthens and deepens, and the recent visit to the Philippines by the Swedish Minister of Trade Johan Forssell is just one of the latest testaments to this,” she added.

To foster understanding between the two nations, Amb. Thunborg mentioned in her speech four priorities of Sweden: security and unity; competitiveness; the green and energy transition; and democratic values and the rule of law.

These have been key to Sweden’s journey over the last century from one of the poorest countries in Europe to a prosperous welfare state with many internationally renowned companies and innovative startups. Some of them are the Swedish embassy’s corporate and advocacy partners.

With Sweden now holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of the year amid globally challenging times, such as continued Russian aggression against Ukraine, climate change and economic difficulties, Sweden intends to engage more with the Philippines and support the need for safe and secure borders to build socially and economically sustainable societies.

For her part, Amb. Thunborg pressed on the need to respect the rule of law and the international rules-based system to preserve our planet for future generations. “We need the green transition to build peace and stability. Everything is connected,” she said.

This is an area in which Sweden has a lot to offer — from security and defense cooperation, as well as health education and capacity building, to retail and design, telecommunications, sustainable transport, and green industry and energy.

Thunborg said the Swedish government continues to collaborate with the Philippine government on such efforts, citing the recent hosting of a business forum on energy transmission and efficiency as one example.

Dubbed as “Green Transition,” the forum was staged in partnership with the Department of Energy and discussed how Philippine energy efficiency can materialize through partnerships with Swedish companies.

The Swedish ambassador, in closing, expressed her gratitude to her dedicated team and encouraged attendees to seize the opportunity to foster new connections, stating: “Let this evening be an opportunity for you to make new and enhanced connections as a testament to the ever-increasing, long-standing, and sustainable ties between our two countries.”

Through collaboration and building on the Swedish model of success, which emphasizes partnerships across sectors, Sweden has transformed from a struggling nation to a prosperous welfare state with globally recognized companies and innovative startups.

The ambassador’s remarks underscored the importance of working together to address challenges and highlighted the strong and enduring bond between Sweden and the Philippines.

For those who are not familiar with Swedish culture and work ethic, the Swedes are basically egalitarian, and when it comes to working with them, they give emphasis on balance work and recreation, compassion, inclusivity and a lot more impressive traits. These principles are already part of their DNA and interestingly, very palpable in the way they deal with people.

Apart from their quests for creativity and innovation, the Swedes give high importance to the dignity of workers and the integrity of every individual as well as the institution.

Mindful of the limited knowledge of the Filipinos about the Swedish culture, work ethics and values, the Embassy of Sweden in Manila and Swedish companies recently collaborated to understand the importance of labor rights and dialogue as crucial parts of furthering socioeconomic development in the Philippines.

In the event, At the Sustainability Talks: The Right To Decent Work forum, Atlas Copco, IKEA, Swedish Match, and Transcom presented their ongoing labor practices in the Philippines. Both the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) joined the event and underscored the importance of enhancing the skills of Filipino workers. 

Sweden is a leader in corporate social responsibility and sustainable business. Swedish companies are trusted to act in a sustainable and responsible manner by working for labor rights, the environment, and anti-corruption initiatives. 

Georg Platzer, Head of IKEA Philippines which opened its largest department store in the world in Manila in December 2021, attributes IKEA’s success to the Swedish value of treating everyone with equal importance, and by treating their “co-workers” with dignity and respect. IKEA Philippines has given regular contracts and paid leaves to retail employees since the store’s opening. It also provides parental leave – four months for mothers and four weeks for fathers. Decent treatment of workers also extends to their supply chain, ensuring that factory workers have safe working conditions and fair wages. 

Platzer emphasized that the retail industry relies on their employees being “competent and confident” about the brand and products they are selling. The practice of contractualization hinders workers from developing these since retail workers are often transferred to a different store or brand before they could have specialized knowledge in their product category. 

Meanwhile, Swedish Match has a factory in Laguna Technopark, which is one of the largest factories in the world and employs more than 300 workers. The workers belong to unions and are able to negotiate for better compensation, healthcare, and insurance. Through these negotiations, the employees understand that Swedish Match provides the best benefits that the company can afford. 

Maribel Umali, Head of Human Resources Management of Swedish Match, adds that the company incorporates environmental sustainability in their factory, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, running on 100% renewable energy, and reduction of landfill wastes. 

In a second panel, guest speakers discussed the importance of productive labor, or giving workers meaningful and challenging tasks and providing them with resources to learn and develop job-related skills. 

Transcom, a business process outsourcing and customer service company which employs over 14,000 people in Metro Manila, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Davao revealed that they support the professional growth and personal development of their employees through career pathing, mentoring, and skills enhancement programs.

“We encourage learning by exploring within the organization, building careers in Transcom and thereby driving employee retention,” said Hilda Rhodora Palanca, the Head of Learning and Development of Transcom’s Global English Region. The company also champions gender equality and diversity by partnering with local government and non-government organizations for initiatives in diversity and inclusion and through on-site facilities such as a daycare for single parents and gender-neutral washrooms.

For Atlas Copco is an industrial company and a global leader in sustainable productivity solutions. It is present in 70 countries and has been operating in the Philippines since 1967. Vanessa Kristine Lapat, Atlas Copco’s Customer Support Manager, shared how they prioritized the morale and livelihoods of their employees during the pandemic. Specifically, by shifting to cloud computing early on and by avoiding company retrenchment and instead cutting back on non-compulsory allowances, allowing them to keep all workers employed. This has led them to achieve their company mission of consistently supplying innovative solutions that benefit their clients. 

Both DOLE and ILO also reinforced the value of investing in the Filipino workforce. 

Khalid Hassan, the Director of ILO’s Country Office for the Philippines, mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the underlying labor issues in the Philippines: technological and demographic challenges, unemployment, gender disparity, and climate change. 

The Philippines is also a service-oriented labor market and due to the challenges in developing and improving the manufacturing and agriculture industries, the country misses its potential to create good and productive jobs in these areas. 

According to Hassan, the climate crisis will lead to the displacement of workers and result in nearly 6 million jobs lost but will create around 24 million jobs. However, those jobs require a higher level of education and training, thus workers and employers should prepare for this through lifelong learning and skills development.

The future of work is shaped by developing work institutions and infrastructure focused on human-centered policy, decent work, and sustainability. If skills in these areas are taught to the workers, the Philippines can be developed and competitive and move forward in terms of socioeconomic development. 

DOLE Undersecretary Carmela “Amy” Torres mentioned the department’s efforts to boost youth employability through programs such as the Jobstart Life Skills and vocational training with Technical Education And Skills Development Authority. On the topic of providing allowances to disadvantaged or displaced workers, Undersecretary Torres underlined this must be supplemented with skills training and job-seeking guidance in order for the worker to have a better chance of finding employment. 

Ambassador Annika Thunborg mentioned that strong labor movements as well as collective agreements between the employers and workers, have been crucial in achieving successful socioeconomic development not only in Sweden, but in other countries in Europe and the Nordic region. 

Before the unions in Sweden were strengthened and the labor market was regulated, there was chaos in the labor market. Employees struggled with bad employment conditions and lack of protective legislation as well as agreements about leave and salary. Strikes and unrest were common at the time.

To address these problems, the largest union for blue-collar workers Landsorganisation in Sweden and the Swedish Employers association met in a place called Saltsjöbaden outside Stockholm in 1938 and reached an agreement that was called Saltsjöbadsavtalet. 

This is a milestone agreement characterized by collective bargaining and collective central agreements between the trade unions and the employer organizations that negotiate and determine the working conditions and salaries in each sector. It is based on respect for the trade unions by the employers’ organizations and respect for the companies by the trade unions. “Collective agreements have created decent working conditions and stable labor markets without strikes and unrest which have been beneficial to employers, to employees, to companies, and to society,” said Ambassador Thunborg.  

As for Marlon Quesada, Regional Head of Learning of the Building and Wood Workers International, who has worked with various unions in Sweden and the Philippines, he shared that in discussing decent working conditions, it is very important to recognize both the laborer’s rights and the employer’s rights. He noted that through social dialogue, “unions can contribute to nation building and creating a stable society.”

Political journalist and educator, Christian Esguerra moderated the panel discussions in Sustainability Talks: The Right to Decent Work. 

In 2022, Sweden and the Philippines are commemorating 75 years of diplomatic relations, with the message of “Moving Forward Together” and a commitment to achieving sustainable development without leaving anyone behind.