Global demand for environmental consultancy rises to £19bn

The worldwide market for environmental consulting services rose 2.1% to £19.3bn in 2015, according to a recently published list of the world’s top sustainability consultants.

Business research firm Environment Analyst said buoyant market conditions in Europe and a revival in the “key” North American market were behind the rise.

It comes after the worldwide market suffered a 2.6% decline in 2014 and a 0.8% decline in 2013.

Key to the turnaround was stabilised government spend in renewable energy, as well as increased support for solar and wind in the US, according to Environment Analyst.

It found that contaminated land was the single largest discipline in the environmental consultancy market, followed by waste and water management services.

Ranked by revenue from environmental consulting services, Aecom was the number one sustainability consultant in the world in 2015, mainly due to its merger with URS – a global market leader in environmental consulting services before joining Aecom – in 2014.

CH2M came second with fellow US consultant Tetra Tech coming third, followed by Arcadis and Environmental Resources Management.

Among the British firms in the top 24 sustainability consultants were Mott MacDonald and Atkins, ranked 17th and 23rd respectively.