The conference, which takes place Oct. 28-30 in Atlanta, will examine some of the fundamental strategies to building a world-class safety culture, and show attendees how to overcome some of the most common obstacles to EHS excellence.

Several hundred EHS professionals and other stakeholders will gather in Atlanta next week for EHS Today's second-annual America's Safest Companies Conference, unified by one shared belief: that operational excellence is impossible without a world-class safety culture.

The conference will examine some of the fundamental strategies to building a world-class safety culture, and show attendees how to overcome some of the most common obstacles to EHS excellence.

In addition, representatives from 16 companies that exemplify EHS excellence will be on hand to be honored as the 2013 America's Safest Companies.

Among the conference highlights:

• An opening-day keynote discussion, hosted by American Society of Safety Engineers President Kathy Seabrook, will focus on the importance and challenges of linking safety with environmental responsibility in corporate sustainability reporting.

• Cliff Meidl will put a personal spin on the importance of the EHS community's shared safety mission during a motivational keynote presentation. Meidl was electrocuted and badly injured in a 1986 construction accident and went on to become an Olympic kayaker and safety ambassador.

• EHS Today will recognize the 2013 America's Safest Companies during a banquet at the historic Estates of Buckhead. The event will include a presentation of the Rockwell Automation Manufacturing Safety Excellence Awards.

The conference will offer education sessions in four tracks: Safety and Risk Management; Environmental/Sustainability; Compliance; and Safety Technology.

Education sessions will run the gamut from timeless topics such as employee engagement to emerging issues such as workplace bullying. Hot topics on the agenda include:

• Preparing for terrorist attacks – Experts will offer strategies designed to help EHS managers prepare for and handle terrorist events, workplace violence and catastrophic accidents.

• Workplace bullying – Gary Namie, director of the Workplace Bullying Institute, will explore the epidemic of workplace bullying and offer tips for mitigating its effects.

• Settling OSHA and MSHA citations – Former OSHA Administrator Edwin Foulke and other experts will detail approaches that employers can take to achieve an amicable settlement of workplace-safety citations.

• Protecting whistleblowers – Anthony Ross, OSHA's assistant regional administrator for whistleblower protection, is among the scheduled speakers who will discuss the implications of an OSHA whistleblower case for your company as well as tips for preventing and responding to whistleblower situations.

• Safety in the C-suite – With more and more senior executives paying attention to safety performance, experts will arm EHS professionals with the tools to provide their boardroom executives and boards of directors with the right information in the right form.

EHS Today's second-annual America's Safest Companies Conference will take place Oct. 28-30 in Atlanta