What ETC does

ETC, Inc. (Environmental Technologies & Communications, Inc.) is an Ohio-based, woman-owned professional services firm founded in 1994 that delivers sustainability-focused communications and public relations work for local government, public utilities, and industrial clients. The firm is headquartered in Toledo with regional offices in Cincinnati and Cleveland, and its offerings span PR strategy and plan development, stakeholder outreach and customer service, public meetings and facilitation, media relations, community impact assessments, and crisis and issue management. Specialty areas include energy operations (natural gas and electric transmission infrastructure, coal-fired plant decommissioning), municipal water systems (PFAS, EPA Lead and Copper Rule, Consumer Confidence Reports), sewer systems (consent decrees, CSO/SSO programs), and industrial operations (MGP remediation, groundwater contamination, vapor intrusion). Named enterprise clients include Ameren, Duke Energy, and Columbia Gas/NIPSCO, while government clients include Cuyahoga County, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, and the City of Piqua.

The business model is project-based professional services revenue: ETC is paid consulting and production fees on a project-by-project basis for deliverables such as strategic communication plans, public meeting facilitation, collateral production (fact sheets, mailers, infographics, websites, videos), dedicated hotlines and customer service, survey research, and media relations. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and engagements are tailored to client scope. Go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct engagement with government agencies, public utilities, and industrial clients, supported by the firm's WBENC, WBE, SBE, and FBE certifications that confer procurement preference on many Ohio public-sector RFPs. Distribution is direct, via the firm's three Ohio offices, with thought-leadership content on its website and blog as top-of-funnel marketing.

The firm operates without proprietary technology, software products, or AI capabilities. Its competitive position rests on roughly three decades of accumulated domain expertise in environmental and infrastructure communications, APR-credentialed senior staff, an award portfolio exceeding 30 industry recognitions (including a PRSA Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation), and a multi-jurisdictional set of small and women-owned business certifications. Leadership transitioned in 2018 when founder Pat Esposito stepped back from day-to-day operations and Bethany Dale, APR, became President while continuing as majority owner, with Esposito retaining the CEO role. There is no disclosed outside funding, no parent company, no M&A activity, and no expansion beyond the Ohio market.

Name

ETC

Legal name

Environmental Technologies & Communications, Inc. (ETC)

Website

https://etc-online.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ETC, Inc. is a woman-owned Ohio professional services firm founded in 1994 that delivers sustainability-focused communications and public relations services to local government agencies, public utilities, and industrial clients primarily in the Midwest, with specialty expertise in environmental and infrastructure projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Relations and Communications Consulting

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820), Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Data Management Platforms (EHS/EMS, LIMS, ELN, Compliance Data Hubs) (EUAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

EHS Auditing, Inspections & Assurance (BPAHAJAG)

Keywords

• Public relations services
• Community engagement consulting
• Environmental communications
• Stakeholder outreach services
• Public involvement consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Loveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Communications and PR Consulting: ETC generates revenue through professional service fees for community engagement, public relations, and communications consulting. Services include community impact assessments, strategic communication plans, public meeting facilitation, graphic design, survey research, website development, media relations, and crisis management. The company serves local government, public utilities, and industrial clients on project basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ETC is a sustainability-focused communications and public relations firm delivering professional services for environmental and infrastructure projects. The company offers PR strategy and plan development, stakeholder outreach and customer service, public meeting planning, media relations, community impact assessments, and crisis and issue management to local governments, public utilities, and industrial clients.

Product overview

ETC is a sustainability-focused communications and public relations firm offering a comprehensive suite of services for environmental and infrastructure projects. The company's core offerings include PR Strategy and Plan Development, Stakeholder Outreach and Customer Service, Public Meetings, Media Relations, Community Impact Assessments, and Crisis and Issue Management. These services are delivered by a team of public relations professionals, graphic designers, and support staff to provide public outreach support for local government, public utilities, and industrial clients. ETC specializes in serving the energy operations (natural gas, electric), municipal water systems, sewer systems, and industrial operations sectors, particularly for large infrastructure and environmental projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PR Strategy and Plan Development Comprehensive public relations strategy and planning services including public education campaigns, public opinion research (focus groups, stakeholder interviews, surveys), message development, talking points, plan implementation, evaluation, photography, website design, and video production. Targeted at local government, public utilities, and industrial clients.
• Stakeholder Outreach and Customer Service Community engagement and customer service support including public involvement liaison, collateral materials (fact sheets, brochures, booklets, annual reports), mailers, infographics, website and newsletter content, dedicated project hotlines and emails, access agreements, surveys, focus groups, and door-to-door outreach. Targeted at utility and infrastructure projects.
• Public Meetings Public meeting planning and coordination services including meeting planning, PowerPoint presentations, mailing lists, letters, fact sheets, banners, posters, enlarged maps, displays, and virtual public meeting planning. Targeted at government agencies, utilities, and industrial clients running infrastructure projects.
• Media Relations Media engagement services including press releases, holding statements, interview preparation, and media coverage tracking. Targeted at organizations running public-facing infrastructure and environmental projects.
• Community Impact Assessments Assessment services covering stakeholder and community resource identification and research, historic research, research of active and planned projects, long-term and short-term community impact evaluation, impact mitigation recommendations, and technical writing. Targeted at project owners needing environmental and infrastructure impact evaluation.
• Crisis and Issue Management Crisis communication and issue management services including strategy development, messaging, and FAQ preparation. Targeted at organizations facing environmental, operational, or reputational crises.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Green UmbrellaminorOthersETC is a member of Green Umbrella, a regional sustainability alliance. This membership demonstrates the company's commitment to sustainability and provides networking and visibility within the sustainability-focused community in the Ohio region.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Kleinfelder: Kleinfelder is a national engineering, construction services, and scientific consulting firm with significant work in water, environment, and infrastructure. Its community engagement and stakeholder outreach capabilities overlap directly with ETC's services for utility and municipal clients, though as part of a much larger technical-services portfolio.
• TRC Companies: TRC is a national consulting, engineering, and construction management firm with deep environmental, energy, and infrastructure practices. TRC provides stakeholder engagement, permitting communications, and public outreach for utility infrastructure projects — the same niche ETC serves — but at national scale and as part of a broader technical-services platform.
• FleishmanHillard: FleishmanHillard is a global public relations and communications agency with an energy and sustainability practice serving utility and infrastructure clients. Its stakeholder engagement, public affairs, and crisis communications offerings overlap with ETC's services, though at significantly larger scale and with broader geographic coverage.
• Edelman: Edelman is a global communications marketing firm with a leading sustainability and energy practice serving utilities and infrastructure clients. It competes for the same enterprise-level utility communications work ETC pursues, but with vastly larger scale, global reach, and a multi-discipline portfolio that includes PR, advertising, and digital.
• Brown and Caldwell: Brown and Caldwell is a national environmental engineering and consulting firm serving water, wastewater, and utility clients. It delivers stakeholder engagement and public outreach alongside engineering services, making it a comparable for ETC's utility/municipal infrastructure communications work, though at much larger scale and with technical engineering as the primary offering.
• Burns & McDonnell: Burns & McDonnell is a large engineering, construction, and consulting firm serving utilities, energy, and government clients. Its stakeholder engagement and public involvement practice directly competes with ETC's offerings for utility and infrastructure clients, though as a much larger employee-owned firm with engineering as its primary value proposition.
• Hill & Knowlton: Hill & Knowlton is a global public relations and communications firm with a dedicated energy and infrastructure practice. It directly competes with ETC for utility and infrastructure client communications work, with overlapping capabilities in stakeholder engagement, crisis management, and sustainability communications, but with global scale and broader industry coverage.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): ERM is a global environmental, health, safety, and sustainability consulting firm that includes stakeholder engagement and community involvement as part of its service portfolio for utility, industrial, and infrastructure clients. It overlaps with ETC on environmental project communications for similar client types, but as a much larger global firm with technical consulting as its primary offering.

Direct peers

• Crosby Marketing Communications: Crosby Marketing Communications is a mid-size integrated communications firm serving government, healthcare, and regulated-industry clients. Its work in public education campaigns and stakeholder engagement for regulated sectors closely mirrors ETC's model, making it a directly comparable mid-market peer with similar scale and similar government/regulated-industry client mix.

Regional players

• Pierpont Communications: Pierpont Communications is a mid-size public relations and public affairs firm headquartered in Texas serving energy, infrastructure, and government clients. Its energy-sector communications work and stakeholder engagement offerings are directly comparable to ETC's services, though it primarily serves Texas and the Southwest rather than the Midwest.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ETC