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“During 2024, we saw a somewhat cautious environmental marketplace. Clients continued to right size their own teams, which led to steady but not necessarily predictable workflow,” said Andy Patz, president of No. 187-ranked EHS Support. The election brought “certainty to move beyond the rhetoric and get back to business,” he noted, but this was tempered by caution related to the Trump regulatory landscape, and how tariffs would affect client cash flow.

“Change to regulations and funding is very impactful and has the potential to take projects off the board,” said Chris Halapy, CEO of contractor Shook Construction, with about 30% of its total revenue in water and wastewater construction. Still, the 2024 strong market extended the billion-dollar revenue club to No. 32-ranked Leidos and the $2-billion club to Kiewit, which ranks at No. 15.

“Broader uncertainty in the economy will continue to challenge certain projects and pose delays. However, our outlook for the environmental market remains strong,” said Frank Sweet, AECOM global business unit chief executive for environment and energy. He said federal action last year to declare toxic PFAS chemicals a regulated hazardous waste, which the Trump administration recently agreed to uphold, and to accelerate sector project delivery through streamlined permitting and tax incentives “are expected to benefit our business.”

 Canada-based Stantec was named in 2025 to design a system to remove PFAS chemicals from the Vancouver, Wash., municipal water supply. When complete in 2028, it will treat up to 12.2 million gallons per day, the region's largest for PFAS treatment capability, the firm says.
Image courtesy of Stantec

CDMSmith noted finalized EPA Maximum Contaminant Level standards for PFAS that drove demand for added water treatment facility design and construction, which includes completion of a record-setting 73.2 million gal per day treatment system in Anaheim, Calif. under the purview of the Orange County Water District. It is the largest multiple-well, municipal PFAS interconnected groundwater treatment system in the U.S., and ended the city's need to spend more than $1 million per month to import drinking water supplies.

HDR pointed to environmental services demand for site facilities in fast-moving data center and energy storage markets that will continue through 2025.

Related to NEPA reviews, “they will remain central, but with sharper focus on speed and efficiency,” ICF International said in its submission. “Firms … that can deliver high-quality documentation under evolving regulatory frameworks are well-positioned.”

With some states now seeking to assume more environmental funding and policy mandates, No. 144-ranked engineer-consultant Geo-Logic Associates Inc. said it is part of a team helping New Mexico energy officials gain primacy for permitting and oversight of carbon dioxide sequestration wells from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

 “This could have a major impact on the future of carbon capture and storage in the state,” said the firm in its survey submission.

 The air quality/clean energy and hazardous waste sub-markets again dominate the Top 200 revenue total this year, but with slight falloffs in their respective market shares—22.2% and 21.1%, compared to 22.8% and 22.6% last year.

 “A split is emerging in environmental services: firms focused on sustainability, climate, carbon and equity are cautious, while those specializing in traditional permitting (air, water, land) continue to see growth due to rising infrastructure-related consulting needs,” said Ajay Kasarabada, Black and Veatch associate vice president and director of environmental solutions. “Many utilities may be struggling to keep up with rapid policy changes, and we’re helping them understand the implications.”

 The firm expects more air quality control projects, he said, “as the power market shifts toward conventional generation, requiring add-on technologies and oxidation catalysts for combined-cycle gas plants.”

 Burns & McDonnell CEO Leslie Duke predicted “sustained growth” within its environmental services group as it fulfills growing client needs in transmission line routing, siting and permitting. Continued work in the renewable natural gas market “significantly contributed” to revenue growth for SCS Engineers, said CEO Doug Doerr, despite impacts to profit margins from procurement and labor availability challenges.

 List newcomer Precision Environmental Co., ranked at No. 175, said it grew global environmental services revenue last year in the industrial decommissioning sector, led by several large coal-fired power plant retirements. Firm President Tony DiGeronimo noted a shift in market drivers over the next 12 months, with new administration edicts to keep plants operating. “We remain well-positioned to capture opportunities” across changing power sector markets, he said.

 RRT Design & Construction President Nathiel Egosi noted revenue growth last year in services to clients in solid waste recycling and energy recovery that “have greatly increased capital spending to expand and improve their infrastructure. We forecast continued expansion in 2025.”

Top 200 Newcomer | By Debra K. Rubin

 

True Environmental Plots Its Course for Growth

 

   Photo courtesy of True Environmental  

Growing companies is something True Environmental founder and CEO Jim Stamatis has had a long career doing. Leading the engineering, consulting and CM firm since 2022, he has boosted its revenue by 65% organically and through acquisition, and its earnings by more than 600%, according to the New York City-based company, which debuts at No. 127 on the 2025 Top 200 Environmental Firms list. A three-decade veteran of former engineering giant Louis Berger Group, Stamatis was a senior executive of both its international and U.S. units who headed major infrastructure projects. He became corporate CEO in 2015, eventually leading its sale to publicly traded professional services giant WSP. Founding True Environmental as his next career step allowed him to “build something exciting,” he says, linking up with private equity firm Halle Capital to finance its launch and development. “We bring decades of experience tackling complex environmental and infrastructure challenges,” Stamatis says.  

Among its services to industrial, commercial, utility and government clients, True Environmental provides project management to support the Santa Cruz, Ariz., wildfire protection plan, including GIS data collection and analysis and fire modeling and mapping (see photo). The firm also is developing for Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia what it says is one of the state’s largest and most sophisticated stormwater drainage models, using advanced software integrated with proprietary custom applications and AI-driven analytics.  

Stamatis is concerned about how Trump administration policies will affect the U.S. environmental services market going forward. He notes “uncertainty” that could delay projects, especially in high-growth regions, “making strategic guidance and flexible delivery more important than ever.”

He adds: “The demand for resilient infrastructure and environmental stewardship continues, regardless of political cycles.”  

‘Strategic Positioning’

 Contractor ECC, which rose to No. 50 from No. 99 on this year’s Top 200 list, fared well as a major waste remediation contractor, particularly in the federal market, related to its role as a U.S Army Corps of Engineers emergency responder, including last year in follow-up to the devastating 2023 fire in Lahaina, Hawaii. “Our strategic positioning on key federal IDIQ contracts … put us in an excellent position to respond to emerging opportunities,” said Manjiv S. Vohra, firm president and CEO.

 

 Pepper Construction said it “saw above-average revenue performance,” supported by strong activity in K-12 and health care facility asbestos abatement, lead paint mitigation and air quality assessments. While legislative uncertainty related to renewable energy tax credits is a risk, the firm also sees promising growth in battery storage project construction. Demand for data center energy efficiency services has remained a strong market in the U.S. and internationally for Trinity Consultants, according to the firm.

Continued bipartisan support of EPA’s brownfields redevelopment program “positively impacted our revenue forecasts for 2025,” said Scott McCarthy, Pinchin chief operating officer. But rollback of environmental regulations “is making it harder for some of our clients to plan long-term investments in clean energy, environmental remediation and ESG-aligned projects.”

 As climate risks become more widespread, adaptation-focused projects “may attract bipartisan support even in a changing policy landscape,” said Vohra. But current federal agency operating and staffing turmoil could take a toll on contracting, some Top 200 firms fear. “We see agencies struggling to release RFPs on time and make awards per their previously anticipated schedules, which will lead to challenges in maintaining revenue over the next 12 months,” said Idaho contractor North Wind Group, ranked at No. 63.

“Potentially eliminating disadvantaged business enterprise goals from federally funded projects has led to uncertainty in teaming arrangements for both sub-consultants and subcontractors,” said Joseph Zwierzynski, chief operating officer at No. 163-ranked DLZ Corp.

 Vohra cautioned that an “unintended consequence” of environmental market uncertainty is the future of its professional workforce. If perception is that “federal environmental contracting is diminishing or going away, there may be less interest in students choosing to be [sector] professionals” he said. “This could have a significant impact on our ability to address environmental issues in the future.”

Top 200 Firm in Focus | By Pam McFarland

 

Contractor Webuild Sees Cashflow in Water Work

 

   Photo courtesy of WeBuild  

Ranked at No. 11 on the 2025 Top 200 Environmental Firms list and reporting $2.8 billion in global environmental services revenue from water-wastewater and hydroelectric power construction projects in 2024, Milan-based Webuild SpA is upbeat about future market opportunities.  

The contractor formerly known as Salini Impregilo, along with its wholly-owned Fisia Italimpianti unit, has served as program and construction manager for global water and wastewater treatment plants, desalination facilities and hydropower megaprojects in the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere. In 2024, Webuild’s clean energy and clean water divisions accounted for about 23% of the company’s $13-billion total revenue, the firm says.  

Webuild officials are particularly bullish about hydropower opportunities. “We are seeing a growing demand for clean and renewable energy as countries look to transition from fossil fuels,” said Claudio Lautizi, general manager of global operations. Last month, the firm turned over the estimated $5-billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (pictured), the largest hydroelectric project in Africa and world’s largest gravity roller compacted concrete dam by volume.  

The main dam, which is 558 ft high by 6,000 ft long, on the Blue Nile River creates a reservoir with capacity of 74 billion cu meters of water. With an installed production capacity of more than 5 GW, the dam will double Ethiopia electricity production and was entirely financed by the country, according to Webuild. “It is a great source of pride because it marks a major step in [national] development,” said Lautizi. In Tajikistan, the firm is building a 1,000-ft-high clay core rockfill dam, tallest in the world, on the Vakhsh River. It will have six turbines with total installed capacity of 3.6 GW—equivalent to three nuclear power reactors. Webuild is also lead contractor for Snowy 2.0, a pumped-storage project that is Australia’s largest renewable energy effort, set to provide grid stability as the country shifts from coal to wind and solar power generation. It would add more than 2 GW of flexible capacity and large-scale energy storage, said Lautizi. But the complex and controversial facility has faced difficult geology, design changes and workforce and supply chain challenges, with its current $12-billion cost and late 2028 completion date both expected to change, according to media reports.    

Developing Risks in Water-Wastewater

Traditional revenue strength of the Top 200 water-wastewater design and construction market mostly held up last year. Sector contractor American Contracting & Environmental Services noted a 20% revenue boost over 2023, despite supply chain project delays, said President Joe Godin. “The construction market is flush with work and virtually all firms we are in contact with are overflowing with backlog.”

 But new risks are developing, with proposed deep cuts to clean water and drinking water revolving loan funds, both in the Trump EPA budget and in some states, said Luke Spalj, CEO of No. 77 ranked Water Resources Group. “Despite legislative pushback, we fear that future cuts may still be implemented,” he said. “The administration wants to push funding models to local governments. These things take time and could hinder environmental construction until funding mechanisms are settled.”

 

“Broader economic uncertainty will continue to challenge projects, but our environmental market outlook remains strong.”  
—Frank Sweet, Global Business Unit Chief Executive for Environment and Energy, AECOM

Scott Cline, CEO of Georgia water-wastewater contractor Ruby-Collins, had feared the impacts of Trump tariffs, but said “that has stabilized and our supply chain is becoming more predictable. Currently we are not seeing any impact to the amount of available work.” He added that “even when federal or state funding has been pulled or has been in jeopardy, [project] owners are going to the bond market to finance infrastructure needs. I am very optimistic, at least in the Southeast, that there will be no slowdown in the next year.”

 While that region has been a main market for Vermont-based PC Construction, the contractor has seen a more recent work uptick in New England, as communities address aging infrastructure, emerging contaminants in drinking water and needs of still growing communities. Texas passed “significant” water and wastewater infrastructure funding in its most recent legislative session that will boost opportunities “for many years,” noted John Marshall, chief revenue officer of Satterfield and Pontikes, parent of Top 200 firm Eagle Contracting, ranked at No. 137.

 Engineer Haskell pointed to industrial water treatment design services as key to its 2024 revenue rise, noting substantial growth in food and beverage and consumer products markets and the need to address more manufacturing effluent. “Inconsistency in the regulatory landscape is the greatest potential risk to revenue in the next 12 months as it could reduce pressure to upgrade facilities and impact spending on environmental services generally,” said the firm.

With U.S. and Canada governments streamlining permitting to speed infrastructure, Luke De Hayr, Stantec executive vice president of environmental services, is concerned “that regulations remain strong and rigid enough that projects are delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner. We’ll continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards as stewards of the environment.”

Looking to the Future

Top 200 firms working outside North America, such as newcomer Egyptian Maintenance Co., noted 2024 environmental services revenue gain from a shift to more sustainability and industrial compliance in Egypt and the wider MENA region. The firm said it sees future growth in areas such as produced water and industrial wastewater treatment and renewable energy integration with fossil fuels “as environmental regulations tighten.”

 Australia-based Aurecon’s environmental services revenue growth is tied to its “connected organization” across the Asia-Pacific region advising clients on energy transition uncertainties, the firm said. Future growth will be driven as “increasing effects of climate change require engineers and environmental-services specialists to be involved much earlier in project lifecycles” to shape long-term solutions, said new CEO Louise Adams.

 

“A possible unintended consequence of the uncertainty is [its] impact on the future of the professional workforce. If the perception is … that environmental contracting is diminishing, there may be less interest by students choosing to be [sector] professionals.”  
—Manjiv S. Vohra, President and CEO, ECC

 New Zealand's conservative coalition government elected in 2023 "curtailed infrastructure spending significantly," which contributed to "a difficult year in 2024 [with] performance below original forecasts," said Auckland-based design firm Tonkin + Taylor, which fell in this year's ranking. "We see conditions now stablizing with new infrastructure projects coming to market. In Australia, particularly Queensland, we see significant opportunity due to demographic tailwinds and large projects such as the [2032] Brisbane Olympics."

 Developing technology also will generate revenue growth, said Barr Engineering, noting that clients’ increased need for integrated data platforms and transparent environmental reporting would drive continued investment in planning and compliance services. Added Versar Inc., “The greatest positive impact to our global environmental services revenue in 2024 is the expansion of services around digital transformation.”

 Toronto-based Dillon Consulting, ranked at No. 152, said it developed and deployed AI-enabled platforms to accelerate data analysis, optimize routing for linear infrastructure and support risk-based decision-making in environmental assessments. “We also transitioned several major clients to value-based billing models, which better reflect the strategic value of our work beyond hourly inputs,” the firm said in its ENR survey response.

To support growth in ecological services nationally, Groundwater and Environmental Services Inc. has added the capability to conduct real-time methane monitoring from a drone-based optical gas imaging camera. Continued investment in inspection technology and online asset management tools also has helped RJN Group clients “act more effectively on system data, reinforcing demand for our services,” the No. 181-ranked firm said.

 “The need for clean water, sustainable infrastructure, and energy and climate resilience isn’t cyclical—it’s constant and growing,” said True Environmental CEO Jim Stamatis. “Our industry has a proven track record of adapting through change, and our agility, scale and expertise enable us to help clients navigate complexity and position for long-term success.”

—With data management support from Rebecca Pence and Jon Keller