Now that shortages and high prices are making headlines, it finally has sunk in that the basics of human survival on earth—clean water, clean air, sufficient energy and usable land—are finite commodities. Helping the world meet these needs has long fueled the industry’s environmental services sector. But with “green” and “sustainable” now familiar terms in the global vocabulary, ENR’s Top 200 Environmental Firms are enjoying another strong year for their missions, markets and bottom lines.
Despite shrinkage in some sectors, whether due to finished tasks, budget cuts, the housing falloff or changes in listed firms, Top 200 revenue in 2007 rose 10%, to $46.3 billion. Solid growth in a few niches as well as in the international market have helped temper early impacts of a changing U.S. economy, although some difficulties are clearly still beingfelt. “Our wins are up, but it’s taking a lot longer to go from being selected for a job to being contracted,” says Steve Guttenplan, president of the Metcalf & Eddy unit of AECOM Technology Corp.