Professional services like Environmental consulting provide solutions as firms face more stringent environmental standards and demands. Environmental consulting firms keep up to speed on industry trends and laws to provide advice, assistance, and services to other organizations in environmental consulting, accounting, marketing, legal services, and technology.

Who are Environmental Consultants?

Environmental consultants give their clients specialist assessment and consulting services on environmental management concerns. As a result, these folks play an essential role in lowering the environmental impact of industrial, commercial, and government initiatives. As an environmental consultant, you will conduct extensive audits and measure environmental pollution within and outside the client organization’s premises to evaluate current environmental policy, management systems, and processes. Following this assessment, you will assist customers in designing and implementing efficient systems and procedures to prevent existing and future environmental damage. You will also ensure that new environmental initiatives and processes adhere to environmental laws and regulations. You can also raise organizational understanding about the importance of conservation, sustainability, and other environmental issues.

Environmental consulting firms typically engage environmental consultants with a client base, including governmental and private sector organizations. Some environmental experts may even own and operate their consulting firm. A considerable proportion of consultants are hired by major industrial enterprises in the manufacturing and production sectors, where environmental management is an integral part of their daily operations.

Which are the Top 10 Environmental Consulting Firms in 2023?

1. Accenture

Accenture set up in 1989, is a multinational professional services firm that provides extensive strategy, advice, digital technology, and logistics services. It has over 9,000 clients, including large corporations all around the world. Accenture has been on Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies for 21 years and has been the leader in IT Services for more than 10 years. Accenture published its report Accelerating Global Organisations Towards Net Zero by 2050 in late 2022, examining emissions reduction targets from the world’s 2000 most prominent public and private organizations.

2. Deloitte

Deloitte, founded in 1845, is one of the world’s top professional services firms. With over 156,000 workers, Deloitte provides inspection, tax, consulting, risk advisory, and financial advising services to clients in various industries. Deloitte introduced GreenSpace Tech in January 2023, a project that assists organizations in selecting the proper technology to decrease risk in investments. Furthermore, the organization performs research on ESG obligations and financing.

3. FTI Consulting

FTI Consulting is a multinational corporate advising firm founded in 1982 that specializes in investigations, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory difficulties, reputation management, unions, investments, and restructuring. FTI Consulting has a significant presence in the United Kingdom, primarily in London and Scotland, and serves clients in the European Union, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Forbes named it one of the top professional services firms in 2021-2022.

4. Bain & Company

Bain & Company, founded in 1973, is a management consulting firm that assists firms with business development, operations, technology, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and organizational transformation. Glassdoor consistently ranks it as one of the finest places to work in the UK and the US. For the previous 15 years, Bain has ranked fourth on Glassdoor’s US ranking.

5. ERM (Environmental Resource Management)

ERM, founded in 1971, is a global leader in environmental, health, safety, risk, and sustainability consulting services. ERM is on our list of best sustainable consultant firms because it focuses mainly on sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) while assisting customers in achieving long-term sustainability goals. It has operations in over 40 countries and a workforce of more than 5,500 individuals. In 2022, ERM gained recognition for its ESG Innovation and Net Zero Accelerator activities, and a study by ERM’s Sustainability Institute discovered that corporations are spending a significant amount of money to receive ESG ratings.

6. KPMG

KPMG, set up in 1987, is one of the world’s biggest professional services firms. It is run by a worldwide network of organizations with members in 147 nations and territories. KPMG is regularly involved in thought leadership and research, producing studies on numerous business themes such as sustainability and regulatory changes and essential services such as audit, tax, and consulting. KPMG’s biannual regulatory barometer assists firms in identifying significant areas of strain in the changing regulatory landscapes of the UK and EU.

7. McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company, founded in 1926, has an international presence and offers clients in over 130 cities in 65 countries. McKinsey is well-known for its competence in strategy consulting, and it employs consultants from a wide range of professional and academic backgrounds. McKinsey developed the Sustainability Academy in 2022 to help firms through the net zero transformation. Along with Alphabet and Meta, it also funds The Frontier Fund, which promotes innovation in the field of carbon removal technology.

8. Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

BCG, founded in 1963, is well-known for its competence in strategy consulting. Notably, BCG created the “growth-share matrix” or “BCG matrix,” a portfolio management approach that assists firms in determining how to allocate resources to their various operations best. Being part of The Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, BCG engages with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF to combat plastic pollution through a UN treaty.

9. EY (Ernst & Young)

EY is one of the world’s top professional services firms, with roots in 1849. It provides assurance, tax, consulting, and strategy services. EY prays on innovation and digital transformation, investing in technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and blockchain. EY’s activities include sustainability, corporate responsibility, diversity, and inclusiveness. EY collaborates with IBM on ESG solutions to integrate sustainability into company strategy, helping to position them as one of the top sustainable consulting firms.

10. PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

PwC is an international professional services network that provides audit, tax, consulting, and deal services. It was founded in 1998 through a merger. PwC works with enterprises across industries to help them with regulatory compliance, financial performance, operational efficiency, and creating value for stakeholders. PwC collaborated with SAP to develop solutions for critical ESG business concerns such as carbon accounting, reporting, supply chain decarbonization, and climate risk.

What is the Significance of Environmental Consulting Firms?

Environmental consulting firms are a growingly essential and in-demand service that not only benefits businesses but also provides a slew of other benefits. Let’s take a closer look at some of these:

1. Reduced Business Risk

Companies with a bad environmental track record subject themselves to severe commercial risk (for example, the danger of litigation, the risk of falling foul of rules, and the risk of supply chain disruption). Customers, investors, and employees increasingly demand that businesses address environmental concerns. However, many organizations need more skills and know-how to make changes. This is why environmental consulting can be quite beneficial. Expert consultants can give the know-how required for businesses to develop more sustainable practices and limit their reliance on environmentally hazardous practices.

2. Advantage in the Marketplace

Consumers are increasingly conscious of the environmental implications of a product or service, and many actively seek out those that minimize their influence and harm. This is why organizations that engage in organizational change and take initiatives to decarbonize and apply sustainable practices assist in differentiating themselves from the competition.

3. Opportunity

Sustainability and environmental concerns are generating new business prospects. According to the latest research by the consulting firm McKinsey, we must invest roughly 9.2 trillion USD annually to meet the global net zero targets by 2050. This is an extraordinary financial redistribution and a significant business opportunity for organizations ready for change. New technologies and practices will need to be created, opening up new markets for businesses and new revenue sources.

4. Community Advantages

Environmental consulting firms involve a wide range of tasks. Still, at the center of them all is the goal of conserving and improving the environment, which eventually helps the community. Consider the environmental expert recruited to do a site audit on a new piece of land a firm buys. If the environmental expert decides there is hazardous chemical pollution, steps can be taken to clean up the facility and make it safe.

5. Environmental Awareness

environmental consulting firms aid in spreading the message and increasing the Company’s knowledge of environmental challenges. Even where regulations require a corporation to take action, an environmental consultant frequently assists the Company in developing and implementing a workable strategy. This encourages firms to reassess their relationship with the environment and educates commercial workers about their influence.

6. Environmental Impact

Environmental consulting firms seek to lessen the environmental impact of human activity. Whether it is assisting businesses in developing a plan of action to reduce their environmental impact or conducting environmental assessments that result in corrective actions, the advice and work of an environmental consultant has a beneficial environmental impact.

Bottom Line

Environmental consulting is a broad word that encompasses a wide range of environmental objectives. It frequently refers to compliance consulting in which the consultant works to guarantee that the organization, for example, complies with environmental legislation. However, it also includes consulting services that provide general advice on environmental and sustainability issues such as waste management, recycling, flood hazards, and other climate change implications.

Environmental consultants work in various industries and may be known as environmental field consultants, environmental project managers, environmental audit consultants, environmental professionals, or environmental analysts. In addition to the many job titles assigned to the profession, environmental consultants might opt to specialize in a wide range of sub-specialties. An environmental consultant, for example, may focus on polluted land evaluation, energy, geotechnical research or engineering, environmental systems management, environmental claims, compliance, environmental impact assessment, the risk of flooding, asbestos management, or carbon footprint management.

FAQs

Q1. What is an environmental consulting firm?

Environmental consultants give their clients specialist assessment and consulting services on environmental management concerns. As a result, these folks play an essential role in lowering the environmental impact of industrial, commercial, and government initiatives.

Q2. What exactly is the purpose of environmental consulting?

An environmental consultant’s primary purpose is to guarantee that clients function according to environmental rules.

Q3. What instruments do environmental consultants employ?

Environmental analysts do environmental testing and consulting using Soil and Water Assessment Tools (SWAT) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Also Read: How To Become A Sustainability Consultant?