Environmental Consulting

The US environmental consulting industry includes about 9,000 companies, ranging in size from one-person businesses to global corporations, with combined annual revenue of nearly $11 billion. Major companies include CH2M HILL and Ecology and Environment, as well as environmental engineering and consulting divisions of large engineering and construction firms such as Fluor and Bechtel. The industry is fragmented: the 50 largest firms account for less than 30 percent of industry revenue.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by the needs of businesses and government agencies to comply with new, existing or anticipated environmental laws and regulations. The profitability of an individual company depends on its ability to accurately predict project costs and to secure contracts with large organizations such as the US government. Large firms have the advantage of providing a wide range of environmental expertise and can thus offer "one-stop shopping" for clients. Small firms are able to compete by specializing in regional markets or particular areas of expertise. The industry is labor-intensive: average revenue per employee is about $140,000.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major environmental consulting services include environmental assessment (determining the environmental condition of a particular site), site remediation (cleaning up polluted sites), natural resource management (strategies for managing a particular environment, such as a wetlands area), environmental auditing (determining an organization's environmental impact, such as its carbon emissions), and waste management. Of the major sources of consulting-specific revenue, environmental assessment accounts for about 25 ...