Environmental Consulting Industry Profile

The US environmental consulting industry includes more than 9,000 establishments (single-location companies and branches of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $13 billion. Top firms include Veolia Environment North America and Tetra Tech, as well as environmental engineering and consulting divisions of large engineering and construction firms such as Bechtel, CH2M HILL, and URS. 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.

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), waste management, and environmental policy development. Of the major sources of consulting-specific revenue, environmental assessment accounts for about 30 percent; site remediation, 20 percent; natural ...