What Imug does

imug Beratungsgesellschaft mbH is a German sustainability and market research consulting firm headquartered in Hannover, founded in 1995 as a spin-off of the affiliated institute imug Institut für Markt-Umwelt-Gesellschaft at Leibniz University Hannover (established 1992). The firm operated three sub-brands: imug/research (full-service market research), imug/csr (sustainability and CSR consulting), and imug/rating (sustainability ratings for green finance). Core products include a CATI studio with 30 computer-assisted telephone interviewing workstations and approximately 100 trained interviewers, proprietary service modules such as the imug Service Check, Netzmonitor network monitoring tool, TOP Performer Label certification, and the industry-recognized BDEW Service Monitor benchmark. The firm was certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 20252 since 2014 and achieved climate-neutral status from 2015 onwards.

imug served enterprise clients primarily in the German energy sector (E.ON, EnBW, Vattenfall, EWE, Badenova, Stadtwerke München, Mainova, BDEW), with additional engagements in green finance (GLS Bank, DekaBank, Nord/LB, LBBW), housing (Gewobag, BVE Bauverein Elbgemeinden), and government/NGO research (Umweltbundesamt, RNE, Verbraucherzentrale). Its go-to-market was direct consultative B2B sales with project-based professional services engagements, quote-priced and tailored to client specifications. The firm maintained ISO certifications, climate-neutral operations, and membership in major research industry associations (ADM, BVM, DGOF, ESOMAR).

In a sequenced wind-down, imug transferred its rating business to EthiFinance Group in 2023, moved its CSR team to good response GmbH in September 2025, and will continue its research services through prolytics GmbH from 2026. The parent imug Beratungsgesellschaft mbH ceased independent business operations at the end of 2025, marking the formal end of the firm as a standalone entity after roughly 30 years.

Name

Imug

Legal name

imug Beratungsgesellschaft mbH

Website

https://imug.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

imug was a Hannover-based German sustainability consulting and market research firm serving energy utilities, banks, and housing companies, operating CATI-based survey research and CSR advisory services. The parent entity ceased operations in 2025, with brands transferred to EthiFinance, good response, and prolytics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market research and sustainability consulting services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG, Sustainability & Impact Research (BPAHALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

ESG/Sustainable Investment Advisory (FSAEAAAJ)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Sustainability consulting
• CSR advisory
• Sustainability ratings
• Customer satisfaction research

Headquarters

HQ city

Hanover

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Market Research Services: Full-service market research from planning to implementation, including customer surveys, employee surveys, mystery research, focus groups, and expert interviews. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements.
2. Sustainability Consulting: CSR and sustainability advisory services for companies and organizations, including materiality analyses, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability reporting.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Imug is a German consulting firm that delivered full-service market research (customer surveys, employee surveys, mystery research, focus groups, expert interviews) and sustainability advisory services (CSR consulting, materiality analyses, sustainability reporting, and independent sustainability ratings for green finance). The firm combined a 30-workstation CATI Studio, advanced analytics (Conjoint, driver, cluster analyses), and proprietary benchmarking tools such as the BDEW Service Monitor to serve enterprise, government, and nonprofit clients across the energy, housing, finance, and research sectors.

Product overview

Imug is a sustainability and market research consulting firm that operated three main brands before ceasing operations at end of 2025: imug | research (market research services), imug | rating (sustainability ratings, now part of EthiFinance), and imug | csr (CSR consulting, now with good response GmbH). The imug | research division offers a comprehensive suite of qualitative and quantitative market research services including surveys, focus groups, mystery research, and specialized analytics. Key products include the CATI-Studio with 30 workstations, the imug Service Check for mystery research, the Netzmonitor for network service quality, and the TOP Performer Label for service excellence certification. The research services transition to prolytics GmbH in 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• imug | research (Market Research Division) Full-service market research service offering qualitative and quantitative studies including customer surveys, employee surveys, online surveys, image and brand analysis, focus groups, expert interviews, live chats, online communities, mystery research, service checks, and advanced analytics such as Conjoint Analysis, driver analysis, and cluster analysis; targeted at enterprise B2B clients. Market research services transition to prolytics GmbH in 2026.
• imug | rating (Sustainability Ratings) Independent sustainability ratings and consulting for green finance, enabling sustainable investments and financings through personal advice and independent evaluations; positioned as one of the leading rating institutions in the German green finance market for over 25 years. Brand integrated into EthiFinance-Gruppe in 2023.
• imug | csr (CSR Consulting) Corporate social responsibility and sustainability advisory services including materiality analyses, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability reporting for companies and organizations. The team transferred to good response GmbH in September 2025.
• CATI Studio (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) In-house telephone research service with 30 computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) workstations and approximately 100 trained interviewers under continuous supervision, providing quantitative survey fieldwork for B2B clients.
• BDEW Service Monitor Annual industry benchmark study tracking customer perceptions of energy provider service quality through post-contact surveys on everyday service inquiries; serves energy utilities and the BDEW industry association in Germany.
• imug Service Check Mystery research service evaluating service quality across customer contact channels including mystery calling, mystery visits, mystery emails, and chat checks; primarily used by energy utilities to benchmark customer service performance.
• Netzmonitor (Network Monitor) Service quality monitoring program for network operators that evaluates customer satisfaction, service processes, and service-provider (Dienstleister) performance using a modular toolkit approach.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% of German hospitals have sustainability explicitly anchored in corporate strategy
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• prolytics GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026imug/research market research services will be offered through prolytics GmbH starting in 2026. Contact person Ulrike Niedergesäß will lead the transition at the new organization.
• good response GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025The imug/csr team joined good response GmbH as of September 2025. Two experienced consulting teams combined forces to strengthen their sustainability consulting offerings.
• EthiFinance-GruppecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023imug/rating brand was integrated into EthiFinance-Group as of 2023. This partnership strengthened EthiFinance's sustainability rating capabilities by incorporating imug's expertise in sustainable finance research.
• AdelphiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch cooperation with adelphi (independent think tank) on ecosystem services and environmental policy projects for German government agencies.
• Leibniz Universität HannovercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 1992 as an 'An-Institut' (associated institute) of Leibniz University Hannover. The company maintains academic roots and research cooperation with the university.
• Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned study on environmental awareness of employees in Germany (2025), demonstrating expertise in sustainability research for government agencies.
• Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation with BfN on research project for recording and evaluating marine ecosystem services and ecosystem services of the German North and Baltic Seas.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Global evidence-based insights and consulting firm. Kantar operates extensive German market research infrastructure and competes with imug on customer satisfaction, brand, and sustainability measurement.
• Ipsos: One of the world's largest market research and consulting firms, with established operations in Germany and a strong sustainability/ESG research practice. Competes with imug for enterprise and public-sector research engagements.
• GfK (now part of NIQ / NielsenIQ): Global market research giant with a strong German heritage (founded in Nuremberg) covering consumer goods, retail, and sustainability research. Highly comparable to imug's full-service market research offering, but at vastly greater scale.

Emerging players

• Statista: Hamburg-headquartered data and business intelligence platform with strong German enterprise penetration. Competes with imug on research-driven insights delivery, though Statista operates a productized platform model versus imug's project-based services.

Direct peers

• infas Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft: Bonn-based German social and market research institute with strong public-sector and energy/utilities client base. Comparable to imug in scope, methodology, and reliance on enterprise B2B research engagements.
• ISS ESG: Institutional Shareholder Services' ESG research and ratings arm. Directly comparable to imug/rating on sustainable investment research, serving European asset managers and institutional investors.
• Sinus Markt- und Sozialforschung: Heidelberg-based German market and social research institute with deep expertise in social research, sustainability, and target-group segmentation. Directly comparable to imug's mid-sized, academically-rooted research positioning in Germany.
• forsa Gesellschaft für Sozialforschung und statistische Analysen: Berlin-based German market and social research firm with strong public-sector and political research credentials. Comparable to imug in size, methodology mix, and reliance on CATI/online survey infrastructure.
• Sustainalytics (Morningstar): Global leader in ESG and corporate governance research and ratings. Directly comparable to imug/rating's sustainability rating business and serves overlapping institutional investor clients in the German green finance market.
• EthiFinance Group: European ESG and sustainable finance advisory group that absorbed imug/rating in 2023. Directly comparable as both a sustainability ratings provider and as the strategic acquirer of imug's rating IP.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/imug_rating
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imug-rating

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Imug