Overview This industry includes more than 8,000 companies with combined annual revenue of roughly $11 billion. Consulting services offered by firms in this industry include environmental assessments, site remediation, permitting, monitoring, spill prevention, water and air quality, and more.

Overview Most consultants have a background or education in hydrology, geology, zoology, or other natural science. There are approximately 141,363 individuals employed by this industry.

Competitive Overview This is a highly fragmented industry with the largest 50 firms making less than 30% of total industry revenue. Environmental engineering firms also compete in this space, as well as the consulting divisions of large engineering and construction firms, to include Bechtel, CH2M Hill, and URS.

Competitive Overview Top competitors in this space include Veolia Environment North America, Tetra Tech, and ENSR International. Profitability for any company in this industry is dependent upon its capability to predict projects costs with accuracy while securing contracts with large entities, such as the U.S. government.

Who Seeks Consulting? Demand for environmental consulting services is driven primarily by the needs of businesses and government agencies, which must meet new, existing, and upcoming environmental laws and regulations. Clients of this industry range from small builders and independent developers, all the way to Fortune 100 corporations.

Who Seeks Consulting? The industries served most frequently by environmental consultants include Aerospace, Automotive, Energy, Manufacturing, Mining, Petroleum/Petrochemical, Telecommunications, and Transportation.

Marketing & Advertising Customers want to work with a firm that can match their needs in terms of size and capabilities, in addition to being able to meet their geographical needs – being where they are when they need services. Firms do well to highlight their ability to meet these demands.

Marketing & Advertising Just one year ago, the USDA announced the Certified Biobased Product label, which helps level the playing field for marketing of bio-based products by providing minimum requirement guidelines in order to claim a bio-based product or service categorization.

Marketing & Advertising For small businesses to find success, it’s necessary to emphasize the strengths that would be selling points to potential clients, including: trust, relationship marketing, thought leadership, a premium brand, flexibility & responsiveness, and marketing agility.

Industry Trends In recent years, we’ve seen and heard more about disaster recovery and the involvement of this industry’s experts, especially following events such as Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. ZweigWhite and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) has lists the following as predominant trends to be seen in 2012: PPPs, IPD & BIM, cost effectiveness of sustainability, renovations and retrofits, a focus on infrastructure, and global vision.

Industry Trends According to Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty, the top five environmental building trends for 2012 include: A rebound in green building growth Slowing to federal momentum Notable momentum gain in LEED_EBOM (LEED for “Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance”) Growth in importance of water issues Interest to increase in zero-net-energy

Growth Areas Pollution control is becoming a larger part of federal environmental law, which means it’s expected that consultants will experience a growth in demand for assistance in understanding the latest legal framework for pollution control. With the goal of improving reputations and increasing demand for industry services, many companies are demonstrating a desire to decrease their carbon footprint.

Growth Areas Residential developments have really begun leveraging consultant services so that environmental precautions can be taken prior to the onset of construction. One environmental consultant has developed a method to address industrial waste using a particular type of fungus, which is more efficient than any other traditional method.

Future of the Industry It is expected that this industry will see a boost in revenue of about 16% from 2011 to 2016, thanks in part from a rise in demand from the public and private sectors. Experts predict that the industry will see an increase in competition as a number of non- employing, smaller firms enter the space; while larger firms will most likely go through a period of contraction as they experience mergers and acquisitions.

Marketing & Advertising Strategies SustainableMarketing.com offers consultants and other green businesses the opportunity to connect with others in the same field to acquire best marketing practices and obtain support. While big businesses want consultants that can deliver on a scale as big as they are, most are going to begin their search locally; which is why it’s necessary to post company information on local directories.

Marketing & Advertising Strategies In the consulting industry in general, clients are going to search using the Internet in most cases. A consultant’s primary focus therefore should be on an user-friendly and optimized website, as well as SEO efforts.