Institute for Market Transformation

What Institute for Market Transformation does

The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1996 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., that catalyzes demand for high-performing buildings by bridging business, government, utility, and community stakeholders. IMT's core programs include the Building Innovation Hub (a D.C.-region resource center for retrofitting and operating low-carbon buildings), Green Lease Leaders (a recognition program covering 8.1 billion+ square feet of commercial real estate), the Building Performance Partnership (a national network of nine high-performance building hubs co-founded with the Building Energy Exchange), and Community Climate Shift (a program supporting collaborations between community-based organizations and local governments on equitable building policy). Underlying these programs is a portfolio of policy resources such as the Model Utility Data Access Law, the Community Accountability Board Toolkit, and the David B. Goldstein Fellowship that institutionalize IMT's research and convening capacity.\n\nIMT is fundamentally a policy and technical assistance organization rather than a technology product company. Its "technology" is human-led: frameworks, toolkits, comparative policy databases, and a network of regional hubs that deliver localized implementation support. An API-accessible database that helps the real estate industry track energy policies represents the most productized technical asset. IMT does not charge fees for its core services and instead operates on a foundation and government grant model — including a $5.5 million Department of Energy award in 2024 — supplemented by corporate event sponsorships and individual donations through the imt.org donate portal.\n\nIMT serves four primary customer segments: state and local governments (the largest by engagement depth), commercial real estate owners and operators, community-based organizations focused on environmental justice, and utilities. In 2024 alone, IMT provided technical assistance to over 50 state and local governments, supported more than $1 billion in federal funding applications, and worked with 100+ partners across projects. The organization positions itself as a nonpartisan convener that translates building decarbonization goals into actionable policy, business practice, utility regulatory, and community engagement strategies across a building's full lifecycle.

Name

Institute for Market Transformation

Legal name

Institute for Market Transformation

Website

https://imt.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that drives market transformation for high-performing buildings by partnering with state and local governments, commercial real estate, utilities, and community organizations on building performance policy, technical assistance, and equitable decarbonization.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Building Decarbonization Services

NAICS

Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120), Administration of Housing Programs (925110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

EIA/ESIA Documentation & Technical Studies (Air/Water/Noise/Traffic) (EUAHAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

ESG/Sustainable Investment Advisory (FSAEAAAJ)

Keywords

• Building decarbonization
• Energy efficiency policy
• Green leasing practices
• Building performance standards
• Sustainable buildings

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Government Grants: IMT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates primarily through grants from foundations and government agencies, including a $5.5 million Department of Energy award for building performance standards work.
2. Individual and Corporate Donations: IMT accepts donations from individuals and corporate partners to support their work in building efficiency and decarbonization.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) is a national nonprofit that provides technical assistance, policy design, and capacity building to catalyze high-performing, low-carbon buildings. It works with state and local governments on building performance standards and codes, with the real estate sector on green leasing and energy benchmarking, and with community-based organizations on equitable decarbonization. Its funding is sourced from foundation and government grants (including a $5.5M U.S. Department of Energy award), corporate and individual donations, and sponsorships.

Product overview

The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) is a nonprofit organization that does not offer a unified software product or platform. Instead, IMT provides a portfolio of programs, toolkits, and resources focused on building efficiency and decarbonization policy. The core offerings include the Building Innovation Hub (a regional resource center for building performance), the Green Lease Leaders recognition program, the Building Performance Partnership network of building hubs, the Community Climate Shift program for equitable policy development, and various policy resources including the Community Accountability Board Toolkit and Model Utility Data Access Law. These programs work together to bridge the needs of business, government, and communities to drive market transformation toward high-performance, low-carbon buildings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Building Innovation Hub: A one-stop-shop resource for building performance standards, managed by IMT in partnership with the DC Department of Energy and Environment, providing resources for real estate professionals, businesses, decision makers, and tenants.
• Green Lease Leaders
• Community Climate Shift

Products and services

• Building Innovation Hub A regional resource center in the D.C. metro area providing real estate professionals, businesses, decision makers, and tenants with resources to retrofit and operate high-performing, low-carbon buildings, managed by IMT in partnership with the DC Department of Energy and Environment.
• Green Lease Leaders Program A recognition program for commercial and industrial real estate companies that adopt industry-best green leasing practices, covering more than 8.1 billion square feet of real estate as of 2024 and recognizing companies at multiple performance levels.
• Building Performance Partnership (BPP) A national network of high-performance building hubs co-founded by IMT with the Building Energy Exchange, providing localized technical support and policy implementation assistance for building performance standards across U.S. states.
• Community Climate Shift A program supporting collaborations between community-based organizations and local governments to center community priorities in building performance policies and connect these efforts with federal funding, implemented in cities including Chicago, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.
• Community Accountability Board Toolkit A resource toolkit developed by IMT with CAB cohort participants that provides a model and methodology for community accountability boards in building decarbonization policy governance, supported by legal input from the Public Health Law Center.
• Model Utility Data Access Law A model law published by IMT in partnership with the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) that provides jurisdictions with template language for accessing whole-building utility data and establishing cooperative data relationships among utilities, building owners, and regulators.
• David B. Goldstein Fellowship A 12-month paid fellowship named in honor of co-founder David B. Goldstein that offers emerging professionals the opportunity to conduct research on building efficiency topics within IMT's programmatic work.
• Energy Policy Tracking Database An API-accessible database offered as part of IMT's Corporate Engagement Opportunities program that helps the real estate industry track energy policies across jurisdictions.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3 in benefits for every $1 spent on building energy efficiency
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

32 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Building Energy ExchangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT is co-founder with Building Energy Exchange of the Building Performance Partnership (BPP), which has established and supports a network of nine high-performance building hubs nationwide scaling building performance policies.
• D.C. GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT manages the Building Innovation Hub in Washington, D.C., created with D.C. government and local industry funding to support building decarbonization in the region.
• Justice Climate FundmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT is a proud partner with the Justice Climate Fund, a diverse coalition of community lenders and awardee of the EPA's Clean Communities Investment Accelerator program under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Together with BPP hubs and industry partners, IMT provides market development and training support to ensure funding flows to communities most in need.
• VerdecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn Oregon, IMT collaborated with Verde to advance energy justice in utilities' distribution system plans, working to redirect utility annual spending toward investments that build wealth in underserved communities.
• Coalition of Communities for Color (CCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT partnered with the Coalition of Communities for Color in Oregon to advance energy justice, submitting formal comments and working directly with Portland General Electric and Pacific Power on equitable distribution planning.
• White House Council on Environmental QualitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLindsey Falasca, former Director of the Building Innovation Hub, has served on detail to the White House Council on Environmental Quality as Director of Net Zero Federal Buildings to support federal building decarbonization.
• Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT and RAP published the Model Utility Data Access Law to facilitate access to whole-building utility data and more cooperative relationships among utilities, building owners, and regulators.
• State of Colorado / Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough the Building Performance Partnership, IMT is supporting CORE with the launch of its high-performance building hub work across Aspen and surrounding resort mountain communities in Colorado.
• City of Chicago / Department of EnvironmentmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT partners with Chicago's Department of Environment and People for Community Recovery on Community Climate Shift project, and collaborates with the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition to advance building decarbonization.
• City of New Orleans / Office of Resilience and SustainabilitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT partners with New Orleans' Office of Resilience and Sustainability and Alliance for Affordable Energy on Community Climate Shift, providing support on benchmarking ordinance and policy development.
• City of Philadelphia / Office of SustainabilitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT partners with Philadelphia's Office of Sustainability and Power Interfaith to create better buildings, strengthen relationships between residents and government, and co-create policies and programs.
• DC Department of Energy and EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT's Building Innovation Hub works alongside DC DOEE to create resources for the building industry, including the Capital Region Green Building Careers Map developed with Julius Education.
• Julius EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with IMT and DC DOEE to develop the interactive Capital Region Green Building Careers Map showcasing career paths in the green buildings sector.
• Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT supports CORE's high-performance building hub work across Aspen and Colorado mountain communities to equitably decarbonize the built environment.
• People for Community RecoverycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago-based community organization partnering with IMT on Community Climate Shift project to facilitate community engagement in building performance policies.
• Alliance for Affordable EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Orleans-based community organization partnering with IMT on equitable building performance policy development and Community Climate Shift.
• Power InterfaithcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhiladelphia-based organization partnering with IMT to create better buildings and co-create policies and programs with local government.
• Just Transition Fund Coalition (Minneapolis)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT partnered with Just Transition Fund Coalition in Minneapolis to identify revenue strategies that could raise over $110 million for climate action each year.
• Community Builders Network (St. Louis)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Louis partner working with IMT on equitable building performance policies and programs.
• Bridging The Gap (Kansas City)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKansas City community-based organization partnering with IMT to drive community-centered sustainable building practices.
• Alternatives for Community and EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of IMT's Community Accountability Board cohort, contributing to the CAB toolkit development for equitable building decarbonization governance.
• Grassroots ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of IMT's Community Accountability Board cohort working on climate governance models.
• Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of IMT's Community Accountability Board cohort contributing to equitable building policy governance.
• Public Health Law CentercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvided legal support for IMT's Community Accountability Board cohort in developing the CAB governance toolkit.
• City Governments (CAB Cohort)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKansas City MO, Los Angeles CA, New Orleans LA, Orlando FL, Portland OR, and Philadelphia PA participated in IMT's CAB cohort for climate governance.
• Xcel EnergymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT engaged with Xcel Energy's IRP process in Minnesota, working with coalition of local governments to advocate for equity commitments, coal retirement, and clean energy goals.
• Great Plains InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with IMT to host workshops for local governments on IRP processes and develop joint coalition letter signed by 38 cities and counties.
• Citizens Utility Board of MinnesotacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with IMT to host workshops and develop joint comments for Xcel Energy IRP process.
• City of MinneapoliscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT provided technical assistance to Minneapolis on utility regulatory engagement, helping shape Xcel Energy's IRP to include equity commitments and climate goals.
• Unidos MNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT offered technical assistance to this social justice nonprofit organizing community members to submit comments on Xcel Energy IRP impacts.
• Turner ConstructionminorOthersSponsor of IMT's 30th anniversary celebration.
• VELUXminorOthersSponsor of IMT's 30th anniversary celebration.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Energy Foundation: Major foundation funder of clean energy and building efficiency policy organizations. Comparable as a potential upstream funding partner sharing IMT's policy transformation mission and grant ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Large, established environmental nonprofit with deep building efficiency and climate policy work. Comparable as an environmental advocacy and policy organization with similar mission scope to IMT, though much broader in mandate and significantly larger in budget.
• U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC): Operator of LEED and convening body for the green building industry. Adjacent in building decarbonization mission and similar donor/corporate revenue model, though USGBC owns the dominant certification standard rather than specializing in policy consulting.

Direct peers

• Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI): Nonprofit focused on market transformation for clean energy, with substantial building decarbonization and policy work. Direct peer in mission (catalyzing market shift to high-performing buildings) and revenue model (foundation/government grants plus advisory work).
• New Buildings Institute (NBI): Nonprofit dedicated to advanced efficiency in new and existing buildings, with parallel work on building performance standards, codes, and policy. Most directly comparable peer in IMT's core policy domain.
• Building Energy Exchange: NY-based nonprofit co-founded the Building Performance Partnership hub network with IMT; runs education and policy programs on building decarbonization. Direct peer and explicit partner on the BPP hub network.
• Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN): Network of municipal sustainability officials with grants to local governments on building decarbonization and climate equity. Comparable as a peer network organization serving state/local government clients with similar grant-funded technical assistance model.
• Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP): Nonprofit focused on utility regulation and clean energy policy, and IMT's explicit partner on the Model Utility Data Access Law. Comparable as a policy-technical-assistance nonprofit with similar funding mix and government engagement model.

Emerging players

• Alliance for a Sustainable Future / Bipartisan Policy Center: Think tank working on energy efficiency and building decarbonization policy with bipartisan positioning. Comparable as a nonpartisan policy organization working in similar spaces to IMT.

Regional players

• City Energy Project: A project (formerly a standalone initiative, now under IMT's umbrella) providing technical assistance to cities on benchmarking and building performance policy. Direct operational peer working on the same policy domain in specific U.S. cities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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