ANY businesses or organisations attending next week's two-day Trans-Atlantic Environmental Conference (TREC '98) in Bradford will identify immediate bottom line savings, according to Iain Copping, director of conference organisers Keighley Business Forum.

He said: "The conference will be looking at here-and-now issues to identify improvements to margins. TREC will help make companies very competitive for the future, as well as assisting with their medium term planning regarding compliance with new environmental legislation, of which an amazing amount is due to be introduced over the next few years.

"The event will also address how companies can reduce their exposure to risk, which will increase dramatically with each piece of new legislation.

"It will provide for the region and its companies the opportunity to tap into serious European resources available through the EC under the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue, a joint initiative between the EU and United States administrations to help remove barriers to Trans-Atlantic trade and investment."

Mr Copping returned recently from the United States, where he attended a Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue event in Chicago.

"Over 100 US companies were represented and there is huge trade potential for UK firms through this initiative," he said.

He followed up with a further visit on Friday to European Union headquarters in Brussels for a high-profile meeting with Roy Dickinson, who heads up the European end of the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue.

"It proved to be a very positive meeting, which will open up major opportunities to KBF, our partners and regional firms to submit bids for funding on environmentally-led projects," added Mr Copping. TREC, at Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford, next Tuesday and Wednesday, November 10 and 11, will unite industry leaders from both sides of the Atlantic to develop successful environmental strategies and explore ways in which environmental best practice can help improve profits.

The US Government and European Commission will be personally represented at TREC, plus delegates and observers from Denmark, Austria, France, Germany, Finland, Ireland and China, as well as leading blue chip companies from the UK.

The conference theme will also be discussed and further developed at a sister conference scheduled for the USA on March 15 and 16 next year.

To date, over 100 delegates have booked for TREC, although a small number of places remain available for regional companies wishing to be personally represented.

"It will help any company which is trading or wishing to trade with either America or Europe, as there will be opportunities to speak to their counterparts who will be attending the conference," added Mr Copping.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.