Montgomery County business and government officials attending Maryland’s “Greening The Supply Chain” conference on June 3 will be transported to the conference using County Ride-On buses in keeping with the theme of the state-sponsored meeting. More than 300 regional business and government leaders are expected at the conference, to be held at the BWI Marriott in Linthicum.

“Our department is happy to join with the Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Washington Laboratories to provide ‘green transportation’ to the conference for participants from Montgomery County,” said Pradeep Ganguly, Director, Montgomery County Department of Economic Development (DED). “As we look to create a more sustainable economic development model, this public-private forum provides a great opportunity for area firms to learn how multinational companies and their suppliers have increased profitability by greening their supply chains,” he added.

The conference features U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and corporate sustainability leaders including Baxter International, Steelcase, Johnson Controls and General Motors. The conference is co-hosted by Maryland’s Regional Manufacturing Institute, the United State’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Suppliers Network and the Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership. Montgomery County is a co-sponsor of the event.
Several of the world’s leading multinational companies have formed the Supply Chain Leadership Coalition to promote better environmental standards among their supply chains. As part of a wider trend, multinational corporations are increasing pressure on suppliers to cut emissions and disclose environmental information.

“The greening the supply chain initiative is impacting thousands of suppliers and vendors who want to make sure they meet the standards that have been committed to by these Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs),” said Mike Violette, President of Washington Labs, a Gaithersburg-based engineering testing lab which helps more than 200 manufacturers adapt to international standards overseas.

The conference is scheduled from 7:15 am to 12:00 noon and registration is $75. For information, call Mike Galiazzo at 410-771-8111 or register online by visiting the events section at www.marylandmanufacturing.info.