DELEGATES from the North West and further afield descended on Bury this week for a major conference.

Around 120 guests attended the Greening the Supply Chain event held at Bury Town Hall on Wednesday (June 20).

Organised by Bury Business Environment Association (BEA), the conference featured a number of top speakers drawn from the public and private sectors.

The event was designed to describe the environmental standards expected by larger organisations from their suppliers. It was also aimed to show how partnerships between customers and suppliers are working for both business and environmental benefits.

Bury Council chief executive Dennis Taylor, past president of the Institute of Waste Management, chaired the conference and also addressed delegates on "green procurement in the public sector."

Other speakers included David Glennon of Environment BA Systems; Sharon Steer, an environmental scientist with United Utilities; and David Tyler of Manchester University.

Dr Alan Knight, head of sustainability and reputation with B & Q, spoke on supply chain management in the DIY-retail sector while Bryan Marshall, director of corporate strategy, Business Link North Manchester, highlighted the business support landscape.

Local support to satisfy customer demand was underlined by Mike Kinsella, Bury BEA manager.

Stewart Longworth of the Government Office North West made a speech on behalf of Lord Whitty, Junior Minister in in the Department of Environment, Food and Affairs.

An open forum was also staged with representatives from the Environment Agency and Institute of Environmental Management answering questions from the floor.