Spurred by the accelerating need for environmental services in the oil-and-gas boom and growth overseas, the Top 200 Environmental Firms, as a whole, managed to hike their revenue nearly 4%, to $53.7 billion, in 2013 and reverse last year's down trend.
With the energy sector a key catalyst, a more confident private sector boosted its status as the go-to client for many environmental services firms. Work for private clients made up more than 47% of last year's revenue total, helping to ease the pain of an uncertain public-sector marketplace. Non-governmental revenue for Top 200 firms has risen more than 42% since 2009.