Gitnux/Report 2026

Environmental Services Industry Statistics

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November 11, 2026Updated
Environmental Services Industry Statistics
Sophie MorelandWritten by Sophie Moreland·Edited by Yumi Nakamura·Fact-checked by Peter Sandoval
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The environmental services industry at a glance

Environmental services are a large, expanding infrastructure industry, with the EU environmental economy generating €1.327 trillion of output and supporting 5.8 million full-time-equivalent jobs in 2023. In the United States, waste management and remediation establishments recorded $159.4B in revenue in 2024, while growth projections for the broader environmental industry point to 6.7% from 2024 to 2025.

€1.327T[8]
EU output, 2023
5.8M[8]
EU environmental jobs, 2023
$159.4B[61]
U.S. waste and remediation revenue, 2024
76%[19]
Large-firm U.S. consulting share, 2024
Market size
The EU environmental economy generated €1.327 trillion in output and €492 billion in gross value added in 2023. In the United States, waste management and remediation establishments recorded $159.4 billion in revenue in 2024.[8][61]
Forecast & CAGR
Environmental Business Journal estimated the broader U.S. environmental industry at $567.2 billion in 2024 and projected 6.7% growth from 2024 to 2025. Its estimate covers 14 segments, including water, wastewater, solid waste, consulting, equipment, clean energy and resource recovery.[50]
Market share & regions
The EU is a major regional market, with 5.8 million environmental-economy full-time-equivalent jobs in 2023. Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland together accounted for approximately 3.7 million of those jobs, or about 64% of the EU total.[8]
Segmentation
The industry spans environmental protection and resource-management activities. Major segments include waste and materials recovery, wastewater treatment, water utilities, remediation and industrial services, environmental consulting and engineering, analytical services, pollution-control equipment, renewable energy and resource recovery.[50][8]
Key players & concentration
Competition is fragmented across local collection, treatment and consulting markets, but consolidation is significant in large U.S. environmental consulting and engineering. Firms with more than $100 million of environmental consulting revenue numbered 80 in 2024 and captured 76% of that market’s revenue.[19]
Pricing
No sufficiently comparable, current industry-wide price series was identified for environmental services. Public statistics generally report revenue, output or producer-price indexes for narrower service categories rather than a single environmental-services price measure.[62]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Growth is being driven by regulation, renewable-energy deployment, energy-efficiency investment, water infrastructure needs and more complex waste streams. Eurostat reported that EU employment in the environmental economy rose from 3.6 million full-time equivalents in 2014 to 5.8 million in 2023, while waste management and materials recovery jobs increased from 0.9 million to 1.3 million over the period.[8]
Consumer behavior & competition
Household participation remains important to materials-management demand: the latest comprehensive EPA U.S. municipal-waste dataset reported a 32.1% recycling and composting rate in 2018, equal to about 94 million tons. Competition increasingly centers on collection reliability, diversion performance, compliance capability and integrated treatment networks.[36]
M&A
M&A remains active among large integrated providers. Veolia completed its acquisition of Clean Earth in June 2026 for a $3 billion transaction value, doubling its U.S. hazardous-waste footprint and taking pro forma U.S. revenue to $6.3 billion; WM completed its $7.2 billion Stericycle acquisition in November 2024.[11][37]
Regulation
Regulation is a central demand driver, especially for drinking water, hazardous waste and contaminated-site remediation. EPA’s 2024 PFAS drinking-water rule set maximum contaminant levels of 4.0 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS; in May 2026, EPA proposed allowing systems to request two additional years, to 2031, for compliance while retaining those limits.[36]
Latest news
In June 2026, Veolia completed its $3 billion acquisition of Clean Earth, adding 2,600 employees and expanding hazardous-waste treatment, storage and disposal capacity in the United States. Veolia said the transaction is expected to produce $120 million of synergies by year four.[11]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Environmental Services Industry

The leading companies in the environmental services industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 11, 2026 · Next review December 11, 2026

Verdict

Waste Connections leads the environmental services industry with revenue growth 6.1% and operating margin 18.1%, while Republic Services stands out as a waste treatment operator with revenue growth 3.5% and operating margin 19.9%.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in solid waste services

    Waste Connections

    CA

    Ranked #1 · 9.2 · Solid waste services

    Why we picked it: Its solid-waste collection, transfer, landfill, recycling and energy-recovery footprint supports audited service throughput.

    See in ranking ↓Visit wasteconnections.com ↗

  2. Leader in environmental waste treatment

    Republic Services

    US

    Ranked #2 · 9.1 · Environmental waste treatment

    Why we picked it: Its recycling, solid waste, special waste and hazardous waste treatment and disposal services match compliance-driven demand.

    See in ranking ↓Visit republicservices.com ↗

  3. Leader in metal recycling

    Sims Limited

    AU

    Ranked #3 · 9.0 · Metal recycling

    Why we picked it: Its metal recycling scale is built on more than 230 locations turning end-of-life metal into reusable materials.

    See in ranking ↓Visit simsmm.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the environmental services industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Waste Connections

Solid waste services · CA

9.2
2

Republic Services

Environmental waste treatment · US

9.1
3

Sims Limited

Metal recycling · AU

9.0
4

Cleanaway Waste Management

Waste & materials recovery · AU

8.9
5

GFL Environmental

Solid waste services · CA

8.9
6

Casella Waste Systems

Solid waste, recycling and resource solutions, Northeast US · US

8.8
7

SUEZ

Water and waste management worldwide · FR

8.7
8

Veolia

Water, waste and energy services worldwide · FR

8.7
9

Tradebe

Industrial, hazardous and healthcare waste services · ES

8.2
10

Renewi

Commercial waste recycling and waste-to-product, Europe · GB

7.8

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 11, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Sophie Moreland. (2026, February 13). Top 10 companies in the environmental services industry. In Environmental Services Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/environmental-services-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

EU environmental economy employment index, base year 2015=100

EU environmental economy employment index, base year 2015=100 grew from 111 index in 2018 to 158 index in 2023.

111 index
Start
+7.32%
CAGR · 5y
158 index
Projected
20182023
source-verifiedec.europa.eu2023

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Digital execution shows up as higher-throughput recycling operations and AI routing: Republic Services processed about 10,000 tons per month at its Denver-area AI-robot-equipped facility in 2026.

AI in the environmental services industry

  • AI-enabled platforms were deployed by Dillon Consulting to accelerate data analysis, optimize linear-infrastructure routing and support risk-based environmental-assessment decisions in 2024.[1]
  • 15,000 WM trucks per day are dedicated to collection and recycling across North America, forming part of the company’s AI and autonomous-operations program in 2026.[2]
  • 4,500 healthcare-service routes are operated by WM, whose broader environmental-services logistics platform is using AI, remote operations and autonomy to improve efficiency in 2026.[2]
  • 226,000 square feet is the size of Rumpke’s AI-equipped recycling center opened near Columbus in 2024 and described as North America’s largest technologically advanced recycling facility.[3]
  • About 10,000 tons of waste per month are handled by Republic Services’ AI-robot-equipped recycling facility in the Denver area in 2026.[3]
  • 20,000 trucks per day are operated by WM in North America, with AI, data, remote operations and autonomy being integrated into landfill and collection activities in 2026.[2]

Automation in the environmental services industry

  • 226,000 square feet is the footprint of Rumpke’s automated and AI-enabled recycling center near Columbus, opened in 2024.[3]
  • 15,000 WM trucks per day are dedicated to collection and recycling, operations targeted for efficiency gains through automation, data and autonomy.[2]
  • 20,000 trucks per day are operated by WM in North America, where remote operations and autonomous technologies are being developed for future landfills and waste logistics.[2]
  • 4,500 healthcare routes are operated by WM, alongside its collection and recycling fleet, within a logistics operation using remote and autonomous technologies.[2]
  • About 10,000 tons of waste per month are processed at Republic Services’ Denver-area facility after installation of AI-powered robotic sorting equipment.[3]

Digital Transformation in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 60% of global waste and recycling organizations identified resistance to change as their largest digital-implementation challenge in 2024.[4]
  • 61% of German waste-management firms relied on digital technology for dispatching and logistics.[5]
  • 51% of global waste and recycling companies planned to evolve and invest in IT architecture during 2024, according to an industry benchmark survey.[4]
  • 66% of German waste-management firms planned to increase their engagement with digitalization in the future.[5]
  • 72% of surveyed UK environmental-services organizations expected the pace of digital transformation to accelerate over the following three to five years.[6]

Technology Adoption in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 47.4% of environmental-industry projects used mapping, modeling and visualization technologies in 2023.[7]
  • 34.3% of environmental-industry projects used analytical or monitoring technology in 2023.[7]
  • 19.1% of environmental-industry projects used satellite technology in 2023.[7]
  • 20.3% of environmental-industry projects used remote sensors or monitors in 2023.[7]
  • 52.5% of environmental-industry projects used IT systems and software in 2023, compared with 52.2% in 2020.[7]

Cloud Computing in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • About 50% of surveyed German waste-management firms considered cloud computing already relevant or relevant within the following five years.[5]
  • 45.52% of EU enterprises using paid cloud services hosted their databases in the cloud in 2025.[8]
  • 30% of sustainability-services clients used cloud technology in engagements, based on a global study of more than 22,000 clients.[9]
  • 30.12% of EU enterprises using paid cloud services purchased cloud-based enterprise-resource-planning applications in 2025.[8]
  • 39.52% to 62.11% of enterprises across most EU economic sectors used paid cloud-computing services in 2025; water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation recorded the largest year-on-year increase.[8]

Big Data in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 30% of German waste-management-firm respondents used real-time data transmission to offices and 14% were implementing it in the 2021 industry survey.[5]
  • 57% of respondents across environmental, civil, mining and energy organisations identified unmanaged historical data as an organisational challenge in 2023.[10]
  • 56% of sustainability-services client engagements used analytics, the highest adoption rate among the digital technologies assessed globally.[9]
  • 42% of German waste-management firms expected big-data analytics to become relevant within 12 months, based on the survey’s most digitally advanced respondent group.[5]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data handling remains a measured operational burden: 79% of waste and recycling organizations still export operational data into Excel, and 66% spend at least 10 hours per week manually compiling reports.

Business intelligence in the environmental services industry

  • 11% of sustainability-services client engagements used artificial intelligence in 2022.[9]
  • 5% of sustainability-services client engagements used blockchain technology in 2022.[9]
  • 56% of sustainability-services client engagements used analytics in 2022, making analytics the most-used digital technology in the surveyed environmental-services context.[9]
  • 30% of sustainability-services client engagements used cloud technology in 2022.[9]
  • 13% of sustainability-services client engagements used Internet of Things technology in 2022.[9]
  • 2% of sustainability-services client engagements used 5G technology in 2022.[9]

Data analytics in the environmental services industry

  • 56% of sustainability-services client engagements used analytics in 2022, the highest adoption rate among the digital technologies surveyed.[9]
  • Tens of thousands of contracts and thousands of plants supplied data to Veolia’s Hubgrade analytics services worldwide in 2024.[11]
  • 21,000-plus environmental emergencies are addressed annually by Clean Harbors using its operational data and response network.[12]
  • 70,000 tons of hazardous waste can be treated annually at Veolia’s Port Arthur site using AI, digital solutions and human expertise.[11]
  • 50,000 square miles is the area in which Southern California Edison used Neara’s digital-twin and AI analytics platform.[13]
  • 12% lower energy costs were achieved at around 20 buildings through Veolia’s real-time AI energy-optimization solution.[11]

Data Quality in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across waste and recycling organizations, 66% spend at least 10 hours per week manually compiling reports, based on a 2025 survey of 154 industry leaders.[14]
  • Across waste and recycling organizations, 79% still export operational data into Excel, based on a survey of 154 industry leaders in 2025.[14]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 49% rate their data quality as good or excellent in a 2024 survey of more than 121 respondents.[15]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 23% spend at least 21% of their time cleaning data, according to a 2024 survey of more than 121 respondents.[15]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 67% say their data quality is better or significantly better than two years earlier, according to a 2024 survey.[15]

Data Governance in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across organizations globally, 65% report that data governance is in place only at an initial, lower-maturity stage, according to DATAVERSITY’s 2024 survey.[16]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 61% have a dedicated data-governance function, according to a 2024 survey of more than 121 respondents.[15]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 81% find their data-governance program useful, according to a 2024 survey of more than 121 respondents.[15]
  • Across organizations globally, 32.1% report having a formal data- and analytics-governance organization in place, while 67.9% report none, in the 2024 study.[17]
  • Across supply-management organizations with a data-governance function, 47% house it in a center of excellence, according to a 2024 survey.[15]

KPIs in the environmental services industry

  • $285.2 million was the increase in Clean Harbors’ field and emergency-response revenue in 2024, a service-performance KPI.[18]
  • 76% of U.S. environmental consulting and engineering revenue was captured by firms with more than $100 million in environmental revenue in 2024.[19]
  • $169.7 billion was the combined global environmental-services revenue reported by ENR’s Top 200 firms for 2023.[20]
  • 80 U.S. environmental consulting and engineering firms exceeded $100 million in environmental revenue in 2024.[19]
  • 128 ENR-listed environmental firms reported increased backlogs in 2024, while 13 reported decreases and 58 reported no change.[21]
  • 165 ENR-listed environmental firms reported profitability in 2024, compared with 18 reporting losses and 17 not reporting.[21]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Integration-driven gains are quantified in EBITDA improvements and acquisitions. Veolia reported €398 million in 2024 efficiency-plan gains and completed its $3 billion acquisition of Clean Earth in June 2026.

Growth in the environmental services industry

  • Veolia generated €44.692 billion in revenue in 2024, with like-for-like growth of 1.5%.[11]
  • Clean Harbors’ Environmental Services direct revenue reached $5.005 billion in 2024, up 10.9% from 2023.[22]
  • Veolia planned an additional €200 million of investment in disruptive technologies over its 2024–2027 strategic program.[11]
  • Triumvirate Environmental received a growth investment valuing the company at $1.8 billion in February 2025.[23]
  • Montrose Environmental Group’s revenue had grown at a 20.4% compound annual rate since 2020 by fiscal 2025.[24]

Differentiation in the environmental services industry

  • 17 patents had been awarded to Montrose Environmental Group’s research and development team by 2024.[25]
  • 62.1% of Montrose Environmental Group’s 2025 revenue came from customers purchasing more than one service, up from 53.3% in 2024.[24]
  • Almost 5,000 patents were held by Veolia in 2024 across its environmental-technology portfolio.[11]
  • 1.45 billion cubic meters of wastewater were reused through Veolia services in 2024, illustrating resource-regeneration differentiation.[11]
  • 65 million metric tons of waste were treated by Veolia in 2024 through its depollution and resource-recovery operations.[11]
  • 15.2 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent were eliminated through Veolia’s solutions in 2024.[11]

Mergers and acquisitions in the environmental services industry

  • $68.7 million was Clean Harbors’ net cash purchase price for Noble Oil Services in 2024.[22]
  • Five companies were absorbed by Veolia in Spain in 2025 to expand hazardous-waste treatment activities, according to reported transaction details.[26]
  • $392.2 million was Clean Harbors’ net cash purchase price for HEPACO in 2024.[22]
  • $220.4 million of Clean Harbors’ 2024 field and emergency-response revenue came from the HEPACO acquisition.[22]
  • 19 permitted U.S. treatment, storage and disposal sites were operated by Clean Earth before its reported acquisition by Veolia in 2025.[20]

Strategic partnerships in the environmental services industry

  • Three parties—Berkshire Partners, Triumvirate’s founder and chief executive, and the company team—participated in Triumvirate Environmental’s 2025 growth investment.[23]
  • 10,000 Veolia North America employees were supported by the procurement organization described in 2025 partnership and procurement reporting.[27]
  • 400 external and internal stakeholders were engaged by Veolia’s “+1” collaborative initiative in 2024.[11]
  • 25 procurement professionals formed the core Veolia North America procurement team supporting broader purchasing operations in 2025.[27]
  • $1.8 billion was the valuation attached to Triumvirate Environmental’s growth partnership with Berkshire Partners in February 2025.[23]
  • 2,000 purchasers were coordinated by Veolia North America’s procurement organization in 2025 as part of its internal supplier-management alliance.[27]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce scale is visible through ongoing workforce churn measures and training demand signals, including 1,067 separations in 2024 at Reworld and 800+ job postings in Idaho from January through October 2025.

Hiring in the environmental services industry

  • More than 800 job postings were recorded in Idaho’s waste-management industry from January through October 2025.[28]
  • 121 women represented 24.8% of Tacoma’s environmental-services employees in the 2019 workforce analysis.[29]
  • 59.1% of environmental-compliance officers were White in the cited U.S. occupational workforce profile.[30]
  • 81 environmental-services employees represented the people-of-color workforce in Tacoma’s 2019 analysis, equal to 16.6% of the department’s employees.[29]
  • 367 men represented 75.2% of Tacoma’s environmental-services employees in the 2019 workforce analysis.[29]

Employee retention in the environmental services industry

  • 24% was Reworld’s total employee turnover rate in 2024, covering 1,067 separations and an average service length of 5.42 years.[31]
  • 45% was Reworld’s turnover rate for employees under 30 in 2024, compared with 23% for employees aged 30 to 50.[31]
  • 19% was voluntary turnover among Cascade Environmental employees with less than three months of service in 2024, improving from 21%.[32]
  • 28% was Reworld’s female employee turnover rate in 2024, compared with 23% for male employees.[31]
  • 24% was Cascade Environmental’s total company turnover rate in 2024, down from 32% in 2023 and 34% in 2022.[32]

Remote Work in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. workers with teleworkable jobs, 14% worked from home all the time before the COVID-19 outbreak, according to retrospective 2024 responses.[33]
  • Across U.S. workers with teleworkable jobs, 43% worked from home most or some of the time in October 2024.[33]
  • Across U.S. workers with teleworkable jobs, 25% rarely or never worked from home in October 2024.[33]
  • Across U.S. workers with teleworkable jobs, 32% worked from home all the time in October 2024.[33]

Hybrid Work in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs, 61% preferred hybrid work when surveyed in November 2025.[34]
  • Among U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs, 52% expected hybrid work as their long-term arrangement in May 2026.[34]
  • Among U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs, 6% preferred working on-site when surveyed in November 2025.[34]
  • Among U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs, 54% worked in a hybrid arrangement in August 2026.[34]

Upskilling in the environmental services industry

  • 5.42 years was Reworld’s average employee service length in 2024, a workforce measure relevant to internal skills development and retention.[31]
  • 36,000 full-time Waste Management employees and their dependents were offered access to free undergraduate tuition through a Guild Education partnership.[13]
  • 3.353 million jobs were recorded in U.S. employment services in 2024, representing a large potential workforce base for environmental-services skills development.[35]
  • 1,067 employee separations were recorded by Reworld in 2024, highlighting the scale of workforce replacement and potential reskilling requirements.[31]
  • 15,000 WM collection and recycling trucks per day are part of an operating model being reshaped by AI, data and autonomy, increasing technical training requirements.[2]

Employee Engagement in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. employees, 17% were actively disengaged at work in 2025.[34]
  • At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 84% of employees said in 2024 that they knew what was expected of them on the job.[36]
  • At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 81% of employees were positive on the 2024 Employee Engagement Index.[36]
  • Across U.S. employees, 31% were engaged at work in 2025, compared with 20% globally.[34]
  • Across global employees, 20% were engaged at work in 2025.[34]

DEI in the environmental services industry

  • 16.6% of Tacoma environmental-services employees were people of color in 2019, compared with 26.7% availability in the relevant labor market.[29]
  • 29.6% of the U.S. environmental-compliance workforce was women in the cited occupational profile, compared with 70.4% men.[30]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Customer operations are increasingly measured through completion and retention rates. Rentokil Initial recorded an 80.5% customer-retention rate in North America in 2025, while its global retention rate was 82.6% in 2025.

Customer experience in the environmental services industry

  • 15 customer-facing digital capabilities had been implemented by Waste Management by June 2025, up from one capability five years earlier, in the United States and Canada.[37]
  • 98.4% was Rentokil Initial’s service-visit completion rate in 2025 globally.[38]
  • 8.27 was Waste Management’s average enterprise-wide customer-satisfaction score on a 10-point scale in 2017 in the United States and Canada.[39]
  • 5.7 million post-service customer surveys were conducted by Rentokil Initial in 2025, producing an average score above 4.9 out of 5 globally.[38]
  • 10,000–12,000 customer surveys were received monthly by Waste Management in 2017, with surveys covering overall experience, service and brand perceptions.[39]

Customer retention in the environmental services industry

  • 80.5% was Rentokil Initial’s customer-retention rate in North America in 2025.[38]
  • 82.6% was Rentokil Initial’s overall customer-retention rate in 2025 globally, measured by retained portfolio value.[38]
  • 210 basis points was Waste Management’s reported retention improvement in fiscal 2024 versus fiscal 2022 under its predictive customer-lifetime-value program.[37]
  • 85.7% was Rentokil Initial’s customer-retention rate in its international region in 2025.[38]
  • 96.0% of Montrose Environmental Group’s fiscal-2024 revenue came from clients that also generated revenue in fiscal 2023, indicating repeat business across its environmental-services portfolio.[22]

Customer loyalty in the environmental services industry

  • 47% was Waste Management’s share of loyal customers in 2017, based on customers giving a 9 or 10 on key survey questions.[39]
  • 90% of more than 10,900 customers gave five-star reviews to Rentokil Initial’s UK pest businesses in 2025.[38]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

B2B marketing measurement is shifting toward creator input during late-stage buying, with 56% of B2B buyers using creators in 2026 relying on creator input in the final buying stage.

Influencer Marketing in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 58% of B2B marketing teams globally used an always-on influencer marketing approach in the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report.[40]
  • 56% of B2B buyers who use creators in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and India relied on creator input during the final buying stage in 2026.[41]
  • 55% of B2B marketers globally were already using influencers in 2025, while another 29% planned to adopt influencer marketing within the following year.[42]
  • 81% of B2B marketers using creators across five markets said in 2026 that reducing creator activity would leave revenue opportunities untapped.[41]
  • 43% of surveyed B2B marketers reported outstanding results from their influencer programs in the 2025 global B2B Influencer Marketing Report.[40]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operational performance is tracked through cost and margin metrics. Republic Services reported $9.350 billion of cost of operations in 2024 across U.S. recycling, waste and environmental-solutions segments.

Process optimization in the environmental services industry

  • €120 million of Veolia’s 2024 EBITDA improvement came from synergies following the integration of Suez across its global environmental-services operations.[11]
  • €210 million of Veolia’s 2024 EBITDA improvement came from commercial, volume and works growth generated by its operating businesses worldwide.[11]
  • 23% of Veolia’s 2024 efficiency-plan gains came from France and Special Waste Europe, according to the company’s global efficiency-plan breakdown.[11]
  • €398 million in efficiency-plan gains were generated by Veolia in 2024, with 64% attributed to operating efficiency, 28% to procurement and 8% to SG&A worldwide.[11]
  • 28% of Veolia’s €398 million efficiency-plan gains in 2024 came from procurement improvements across its global water, waste and energy businesses.[11]

Operational efficiency in the environmental services industry

  • Republic Services reported $9.350 billion of cost of operations in 2024 across its U.S. recycling, waste and environmental-solutions segments.[22]
  • SUEZ’s recycling and recovery operating margin improved by 0.4 percentage points in 2024, supported by commercial and operating performance in France and the United Kingdom.[43]
  • SUEZ’s water EBITDA increased 4.6% in 2024, helped by indexation in France and stronger operating performance internationally.[43]
  • Waste Management reported a 29.9% adjusted operating EBITDA margin for the full year 2024 across its U.S. environmental-services operations.[37]
  • SUEZ increased group EBITDA by 12.7% to €1.563 billion in 2024, citing improved operational performance in water and recycling and recovery services.[43]

Quality management in the environmental services industry

  • 125% was the reported increase in ISO 14001 certificate counts between 2023 and 2024 in the published ISO Survey comparison.[44]
  • 124% was the reported increase in ISO 14001 certified sites between 2023 and 2024 in the published ISO Survey comparison.[44]
  • 555 accredited management-system certificates were recorded in the UK water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation sector in the cited sector analysis.[45]
  • 4,483 certified sites were reported for UK engineering services in the cited certification analysis, a sector that includes environmental-service providers and engineering contractors.[45]
  • 300,410 ISO 14001 environmental-management certificates were reported worldwide for 2023 in the ISO Survey comparison.[44]

Supply chain in the environmental services industry

  • 1,485 reconditioned drums were purchased by Ecolab in 2024 for use in its global supply chain.[46]
  • 46,532 metric tons of plastic packaging material were used by Ecolab’s global supply-chain manufacturing facilities in 2024.[46]
  • 6.9% of Ecolab’s plastic packaging material was recycled content in 2024 across its global supply-chain manufacturing facilities.[46]
  • 12,056 metric tons of nonhazardous solid waste were recycled by Ecolab in 2024 across its global supply-chain manufacturing facilities.[46]
  • 3,209 metric tons of post-consumer resin were used in Ecolab packaging in 2024 across its global manufacturing supply chain.[46]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 100% of companies surveyed globally in 2024 were outsourcing at least one element of sustainability management.[47]
  • 40% of companies surveyed globally in 2024 were delegating waste management to specialized partners, while 33% were considering it.[47]
  • 56% of companies surveyed globally in 2024 were using performance contracts for sustainability-related services.[47]
  • 66% of companies surveyed globally in 2024 were outsourcing facilities or utility management.[47]
  • U.S. waste management and remediation services affiliates recorded $3.6 billion in sales to foreign customers in 2021.[48]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Commodity and energy price movements are treated as material EBITDA drivers, and environmental demand is segmented by service type. For example, the 2024 U.S. market size for hazardous-waste management was $17.6 billion.

Pricing strategy in the environmental services industry

  • 6.5% was SUEZ’s 2024 revenue growth in recycling and recovery, driven partly by commercial price increases in France and business wins in the United Kingdom.[43]
  • 4.6% was the increase in SUEZ’s 2024 water EBITDA, supported partly by indexation in France.[43]
  • A $10-per-ton change in recycled-commodity prices would change Republic Services’ annual revenue and operating income by approximately $11 million at 2024 volumes and mix.[22]
  • £1 billion was the approximate value of SUEZ’s Greater Manchester waste-management and recycling contract extension through 2034.[43]
  • 66 megawatts was the capacity of the boiler in SUEZ’s 2024 ORISTEAM project, which recovers 133,000 tonnes per year of solid recovered fuel for TEREOS.[43]

Cost reduction in the environmental services industry

  • €131 million was the negative impact of lower energy sales prices net of lower purchase costs on Veolia’s 2024 EBITDA.[11]
  • $671 million was the increase in Waste Management’s 2024 operating cash flow, which rose to $5.390 billion from $4.719 billion in 2023.[22]
  • $1.674 billion was Republic Services’ SG&A expense in 2024 across its integrated environmental-services operations.[22]
  • €112 million was the net negative impact of energy and recyclate commodity-price movements on Veolia’s 2024 EBITDA.[11]
  • €20 million was the positive impact of higher recyclate prices on Veolia’s 2024 EBITDA, partly offsetting commodity-price pressures.[11]

Profitability in the environmental services industry

  • €1.530 billion was Veolia’s current net income in 2024, described by the company as a record and approximately double its level five years earlier.[11]
  • 35.2% was Republic Services’ share of U.S. non-metal-waste recycling production value in 2025, according to Euromonitor.[49]
  • 17.0% was SUEZ’s group EBITDA margin in 2024, up from 15.6% in 2023 across its water and recycling and recovery businesses.[43]
  • 9.8% was the 2025 profitability of U.S. non-metal-waste recycling measured as a share of production value.[49]
  • $28.7 billion was U.S. demand for non-metal-waste recycling in 2025, according to Euromonitor’s industry analysis.[49]

Financial planning in the environmental services industry

  • $25.9 billion was the 2024 U.S. market size for resource recovery in Environmental Business Journal’s environmental-industry segmentation.[50]
  • $84.1 billion was the 2024 U.S. market size for wastewater treatment works in Environmental Business Journal’s environmental-industry segmentation.[50]
  • $17.6 billion was the 2024 U.S. market size for hazardous-waste management in Environmental Business Journal’s environmental-industry segmentation.[50]
  • 6.7% was the projected 2024–2025 growth rate for the combined U.S. environmental industry across 14 segments.[50]
  • $83.1 billion was the 2024 U.S. market size for solid-waste management in Environmental Business Journal’s environmental-industry segmentation.[50]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Service differentiation includes digital training and analytics-enabled operations. Veolia enhanced online training with a Passport Data module in 2024 to support lifecycle management of data-enabled environmental services.

Product development in the environmental services industry

  • 62% of U.S. climate-change and energy consulting revenue came from energy-transition and decarbonization services in 2023, indicating a shift in environmental-service offerings.[51]
  • 14.9% was the projected 2024–2025 growth rate for clean-energy systems and power in the U.S. environmental industry.[50]
  • $49 billion was the size of the U.S. environmental consulting and engineering market in 2024, supporting continued development of new compliance, resilience and infrastructure services.[19]
  • 26% was the growth rate of U.S. environmental, health and safety consulting in 2023, increasing demand for new compliance-oriented services.[51]
  • 11% was the growth rate of the U.S. environmental consulting and engineering industry in 2023, reflecting expanded demand for new environmental and infrastructure services.[19]

Product lifecycle in the environmental services industry

  • 4,682 metric tons of CO2 were saved annually by Veolia’s Eurekam energy-optimization solution across around 20 buildings in 2024.[11]
  • 12% lower energy costs were achieved by Veolia’s Eurekam AI solution across around 20 buildings through real-time optimization in 2024.[11]
  • 50% faster vegetation work was reported by Southern California Edison after using Neara’s digital-twin platform for environmental and utility asset analysis.[13]
  • 2024 was the year Veolia enhanced online training with a Passport Data module to support the lifecycle management of data-enabled environmental services.[11]
  • Tens of thousands of service contracts and thousands of plants worldwide supplied data to Veolia’s Hubgrade digital-service platform in 2024.[11]

After-sales in the environmental services industry

  • 21,000-plus environmental emergencies are handled each year by Clean Harbors across its North American response network.[12]
  • $220.4 million of Clean Harbors’ 2024 field and emergency-response revenue increase came from the HEPACO acquisition.[18]
  • $169.7 billion was the combined 2023 environmental-services revenue reported by ENR’s global Top 200 environmental firms, supporting broad demand for ongoing client services.[20]
  • 128 environmental firms reported increased backlogs in ENR’s 2024 Top 200 survey, indicating continued demand for project and service delivery.[21]
  • $285.2 million was the increase in Clean Harbors’ field and emergency-response service revenue from 2023 to 2024.[18]

Value proposition in the environmental services industry

  • $33.7 billion was Veolia Environmental’s environmental-services revenue in 2021, the highest among the global firms listed by the U.S. International Trade Commission.[48]
  • 8% is the annual growth rate forecast through 2028 for U.S. environmental, health and safety consulting services.[51]
  • $22.3 billion was the size of the U.S. environmental and sustainability consulting market in 2023.[51]
  • $3.5 billion was the value of U.S. environmental, health and safety consulting services in 2023.[51]
  • $6.8 billion was AECOM’s environmental-services revenue in 2021, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission’s review of leading suppliers.[48]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability claims are quantified through treated volumes and emissions intensity. Veolia’s 2024 carbon intensity was 467 tonnes of CO2e per million euros of revenue.

Sustainability in the environmental services industry

  • 9.2 million inhabitants benefited from Veolia’s inclusive access to essential services in 2025 worldwide.[11]
  • 112 million cubic metres of wastewater were reused by SUEZ in 2024 worldwide.[43]
  • 3 billion cubic metres of wastewater were treated by SUEZ in 2024 worldwide.[43]
  • 44 million people were served by SUEZ wastewater systems in 2024 worldwide.[43]
  • 8 TWh of energy were produced by SUEZ from environmental-service activities in 2024 worldwide.[43]

ESG in the environmental services industry

  • Veolia’s 2024 Scope 1 greenhouse-gas emissions were 18,708 kilotonnes of CO2e worldwide.[11]
  • SUEZ’s sustainable-electricity share reached 35% of Group electricity consumption in 2024.[43]
  • SUEZ had biodiversity action plans deployed at 54.4% of biodiversity-priority sites in 2024.[43]
  • Veolia’s 2024 location-based Scope 2 emissions were 2,364 kilotonnes of CO2e worldwide.[11]
  • SUEZ reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions from water activities to 635 kilotonnes of CO2e in 2024.[43]

Ethics in the environmental services industry

  • 88% of Veolia survey respondents gave positive answers to the ethics-and-conformity question in 2025.[11]
  • 37.1% of Veolia’s Group Management Committee were women in 2025.[11]
  • SUEZ used only local species in 98% of its 2024 renaturation and landscaping operations.[43]
  • Veolia’s 2025 employee engagement rate was 88% worldwide.[11]
  • SUEZ reported a 75% share of managed sites not using phytosanitary products in 2024.[43]

CSR in the environmental services industry

  • SUEZ served 44 million people through wastewater systems in 2024 worldwide.[43]
  • SUEZ provided waste-collection services to 13 million people in 2024 worldwide.[43]
  • Veolia reported 9.2 million inhabitants benefiting from inclusive access to essential services in 2025.[11]
  • SUEZ provided drinking water to 68 million people in 2024 worldwide.[43]
  • SUEZ treated 32 million tonnes of waste in 2024 worldwide.[43]

Circular economy in the environmental services industry

  • Republic Services processed 1 million short tons of compost in 2024.[52]
  • SUEZ recovered 11.795 million tonnes of waste in 2024 worldwide.[43]
  • Greater Manchester’s SUEZ-managed waste achieved 99.8% recovery as an alternative to landfill after five years.[43]
  • SUEZ recovered 48.8% of waste in 2024 worldwide.[43]
  • Recycling rates at Greater Manchester waste reception centres approached 60% under SUEZ management.[43]

Carbon footprint in the environmental services industry

  • Clean Harbors avoided more than 3.5 million metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions in 2023.[18]
  • Veolia’s 2024 carbon intensity was 467 tonnes of CO2e per million euros of revenue.[11]
  • WM reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 22% in 2024 from its 2021 baseline.[53]
  • Republic Services sequestered 28.3 million metric tons of CO2e in its landfills in 2024.[52]
  • Republic Services reported 13,608,508 metric tons of Scope 1 emissions in 2024.[52]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Cross-market exposure shows in revenue mix and customer counts. Veolia’s 2024 revenue was €44.692 billion, and it served 96 million people connected to sanitation services in 2024 across international operating markets.

Globalization in the environmental services industry

  • €2.798 billion was Veolia’s 2024 revenue in Iberia, up 5.8% at constant scope and exchange rates.[11]
  • €1.903 billion was Veolia’s 2024 revenue in Latin America, up 10.9% at constant scope and exchange rates.[11]
  • €44.692 billion was Veolia’s consolidated revenue in 2024, including €11.945 billion from the rest of the world outside France and Europe excluding France.[11]
  • 56 countries hosted Veolia operations in 2024, covering water, waste and energy services worldwide.[11]
  • €3.329 billion was Veolia’s 2024 revenue in North America, up 2.8% at constant scope and exchange rates.[11]

Cultural adaptation in the environmental services industry

  • 96 million people were connected to sanitation services provided by Veolia in 2024 across its international operating markets.[11]
  • 111 million people received drinking-water services from Veolia in 2024 across markets with differing local access and service needs.[11]
  • 56% of Veolia’s 2024 revenue came from municipal customers, whose service requirements are shaped by local public-service expectations.[11]
  • 43 million inhabitants received waste-collection services from Veolia in 2024 through locally organized municipal and commercial operations.[11]
  • 44% of Veolia’s 2024 revenue came from industrial customers, requiring environmental-service solutions tailored to sector-specific operating contexts.[11]

Supplier management in the environmental services industry

  • 34,664 suppliers had accepted CBRE’s Supplier Code of Conduct and been approved in 2025 environmental and social reporting.[59]
  • 2,000 purchasers were supported by a core procurement team of 25 at Veolia North America, according to a 2025 procurement profile.[27]
  • 10,000 employees were supported by Veolia North America’s procurement organization in 2025, covering sourcing, contracting, purchasing and risk management.[27]
  • More than 90% of Veolia’s expenditure was reinvested locally in 2024, supporting local supplier and service-provider relationships.[11]
  • 60,565 suppliers were reported as accepting and being approved under CBRE’s Supplier Code of Conduct in one 2025 comparative reporting year.[59]

Stakeholder management in the environmental services industry

  • More than 87,000 inspections and hundreds of training and outreach events were conducted by Maricopa County Environmental Services in fiscal 2025.[60]
  • 8.4 million people benefited from Veolia inclusive-access programs for essential services in 2024.[11]
  • 94% of Veolia employees said in 2024 that their work was useful, according to the group’s employee survey.[11]
  • 88% was Veolia’s employee engagement rate in 2024, providing an internal stakeholder-management indicator for the environmental-services group.[11]
  • 400 stakeholders participated in Veolia’s “+1” initiative in 2024, which was designed to support collaborative ecological transformation.[11]

Distribution channels in the environmental services industry

  • Clean Harbors’ 2025 customer portal and e-commerce initiatives supplied customers with real-time service data and digital interaction channels.[22]
  • Clean Harbors used a disposal network and specialized facilities to provide hazardous-waste collection, transportation, treatment and disposal in 2024.[22]
  • 56% of Veolia’s 2024 revenue came through municipal customers, representing its largest customer channel.[11]
  • 44% of Veolia’s 2024 revenue came through industrial customers, its second reported customer channel.[11]

Key questions about the Environmental Services Industry

How large is the environmental services market?
The EU environmental economy generated €1.327 trillion of output in 2023 and €492 billion in gross value added. In the United States, waste management and remediation establishments recorded $159.4 billion in revenue in 2024.
What growth rate should analysts use for the broader U.S. environmental industry?
Environmental Business Journal estimated the broader U.S. environmental industry at $567.2 billion in 2024 and projected 6.7% growth from 2024 to 2025 across 14 segments.
Which companies lead the environmental services industry?
Waste Connections leads the environmental services industry with revenue growth 6.1% and operating margin 18.1%, while Republic Services stands out as a waste treatment operator with revenue growth 3.5% and operating margin 19.9%.
Where is technology shifting work in environmental services?
AI, remote operations and autonomy are being integrated into waste logistics and recycling operations, including AI-robot-equipped sorting at about 10,000 tons per month at Republic Services’ Denver-area facility in 2026. Cloud and analytics adoption are also measured in sustainability-services client engagements, with analytics at 56% in 2022.
How is market structure characterized across consulting and services?
Competition is fragmented across local collection and treatment, while consolidation is significant in large U.S. environmental consulting and engineering. Firms with more than $100 million of environmental consulting revenue numbered 80 in 2024 and captured 76% of that market’s revenue.
What compliance factor is creating treatment demand?
PFAS compliance is a central driver of treatment demand, with EPA’s 2024 PFAS drinking-water rule setting maximum contaminant levels of 4.0 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, and a May 2026 proposal to allow systems to request two additional years to 2031 while retaining those limits.
Reference

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Sophie Moreland. (2026, February 13). Environmental Services Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/environmental-services-industry-statistics
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