A Service Catalogue for an Environmental Consulting Start-up
Soininen, Sami (2015)
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2015
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 Finland
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2015100215087
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2015100215087
Tiivistelmä
This thesis deals with producing a service catalogue for an environmental consulting start-up. The project is divided to the following tasks: Introduction to environmental consulting, market and competitor analysis, legislation analysis, customer analysis, service catalogue and project evaluation. The aim of the research process is to get information about the services which might be possible to offer and profitable. Interviews were the principal method of acquiring information; a moderate literature review was also carried out, involving the latest online sources.
The main motivator for companies to invest in environmentally sustainable projects is complying with laws and regulations. Working as an individual consultant requires a wide range of skills and suitable personal characteristics. A consultant should have his or her own area of expertise that stands out of the competition, or a product that stands out from the mass. A major threat for a consultant is the lack of innovative services. Without innovations a consultant drifts toward mere price competition.
Despite intense competition, there is room for new small actors with specific knowledge in the environmental consulting business in Finland. Consultants can offer solutions as to how companies can improve their processes and comply with the legislation. An environmental consultant should study what the customer company is doing and invent new and better solutions that the company has not looked into. Networking with other small consultants with different kinds of expertise is beneficial.
The service catalogue was produced for an individual consultant. It is beneficial to choose only a few services and reach for high quality. The recommended services for an environmental consulting start-up are combined environmental, quality and risk management consulting services in one package for SMEs, including additional services such as responsible procurement with ERP as well as material and energy efficiency actions. Storm water management plans, water protection plans and reports related to GIS are also included in the service catalogue.
The main motivator for companies to invest in environmentally sustainable projects is complying with laws and regulations. Working as an individual consultant requires a wide range of skills and suitable personal characteristics. A consultant should have his or her own area of expertise that stands out of the competition, or a product that stands out from the mass. A major threat for a consultant is the lack of innovative services. Without innovations a consultant drifts toward mere price competition.
Despite intense competition, there is room for new small actors with specific knowledge in the environmental consulting business in Finland. Consultants can offer solutions as to how companies can improve their processes and comply with the legislation. An environmental consultant should study what the customer company is doing and invent new and better solutions that the company has not looked into. Networking with other small consultants with different kinds of expertise is beneficial.
The service catalogue was produced for an individual consultant. It is beneficial to choose only a few services and reach for high quality. The recommended services for an environmental consulting start-up are combined environmental, quality and risk management consulting services in one package for SMEs, including additional services such as responsible procurement with ERP as well as material and energy efficiency actions. Storm water management plans, water protection plans and reports related to GIS are also included in the service catalogue.