Environmental Consulting Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 8,300 environmental consulting services firms in the US provide expert advice and assistance to other companies and organizations on environmental issues. Major services offered include environmental assessments, site remediation planning, natural resource management, and waste management consulting services. Firms may also provide evaluations of environmental studies, environmental audits, and environmental policy development services.
Dependence on Skilled Staff
Environmental consulting firms rely on highly skilled staff to provide professional services to clients.
Dependence on Government Contracts
Government contracts can account for a significant percentage of business for environmental consulting firms, and projects typically involve a highly regulated procurement process.
Industry size & Structure
The average environmental consulting firm operates out of a single location, employs fewer than 10 workers, and generates $2 million in annual revenue.
- The environmental consulting services industry consists of about 8,400 firms that employ 94,800 workers and generate $17.5 billion annually.
- The industry is fragmented; the top 50 companies account for about 31% of industry revenue.
- Large firms, which include Wood Group, Arcadis US, Ramboll, and TRC Companies, may have operations in foreign countries.
Industry Forecast
Environmental Consulting Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 12, 2024 - Price Increases Keep Pace with Wage Growth
- Producer prices charged by management and technical consulting services firms increased slightly in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Wage growth in the industry has only been somewhat stronger than pricing growth. Steady pricing power on par with wage growth may suggest management and technical consulting services firms’ margins are holding up amid a tight labor market. In Q3 2023, industry employment increased slightly compared to a year earlier.
- In early March, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt a new rule requiring publicly traded firms to report certain climate-related risks, according to Reuters. In March 2022, the SEC released a draft of a proposed rule to inform investors about a company’s lower-carbon strategy, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate-related risks. That proposal included “Scope 3” emissions standards that would have required firms to disclose emissions data of their customers and suppliers. The final rule passed in March 2024 excluded Scope 3, but 10 Republican-led states have threatened to sue the SEC to block the rule. Private firms are not required to comply with the new climate disclosure rule. The new SEC climate rule could drive demand for environmental consulting services.
- A recent report by Deloitte showed that while climate-related technology investments have boomed over the last two decades, they have tended to be concentrated in relatively few geographies. Deloitte’s Geography of Climate Tech found that between 2000 and 2022, 2,400 climate tech firms were founded, and $148 billion was invested. The US leads the climate tech space with 37% of total companies, with Canada a distant second at 9%. The two countries - along with Australia, China, France, Germany, India, and the UK - account for 75% of climate tech firms worldwide. However, while eight countries dominate the industry, climate tech investors may turn to other markets in search of lower valuations and the possibility of better returns. Seven technology areas control 50% of the climate tech market, led by waste management technology with 12%. Other leaders include short-duration energy storage (9%), passenger road vehicles (7%), long-duration energy storage (6%), alternative proteins (6%), carbon capture (5%), and EV charging (5%).
- Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) insiders – including corporate investors, M&A debt providers, and financial investors – are increasingly weighing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in their M&A due diligence strategies, according to a recent survey of M&A practitioners in the US, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMA) by KPMG. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said ESG considerations are a factor in their M&A agenda. About 27% of US investors and 48% of EMA investors say they will perform ESG due diligence more often in the future. Nearly 70% of EMA investors and more than 60% of investors in the US said they would pay a premium for an M&A target with a strong grasp of ESG and that meshed with their ESG goals.
Get A Demo
Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform
See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.
Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
check out Vertical IQ today.