IU Group N.V.

Certified B Corporation
Headquarters

Bavaria, Germany

Certified Since

November 2023

Industry

Higher education

Sector

Service with Significant Environmental Footprint

Operates In

Austria,

Belgium,

Canada,

Germany,

United Kingdom

With over 100,000 students enrolled, IU Group, holding company behind IU - International University of Applied Sciences, is Germany’s largest private university group. IU provides a well-diversified mix of online degree courses, part-time studies and on-campus learning. We are a pioneer in delivering high-quality education, leveraging technology and innovation to meet the changing needs of students. Today, our vertically-integrated education platform offers the largest portfolio of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Europe with more than 200 accredited courses in German in English. We cooperate with more than 15,000 enterprises and actively support them in their people development including in high-demand areas such as business administration, data & artificial intelligence and technology. ‍ The company was founded in 2000 and is now present in over 40 German cities. Behind IU Group are more than 4,000 employees from more than 87 nationalities.​ In 2023 the British London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF) as well as the Canadian University of Fredericton (UFred) were acquired by IU Group and joined their path of revolutionizing online education.

Overall B Impact Score

Based on the B Impact assessment, IU Group N.V. earned an overall score of 90.3. The median score for ordinary businesses who complete the assessment is currently 50.9.
90.3
90.3 Overall B Impact Score
80 Qualifies for B Corp Certification
50.9 Median Score for Ordinary Businesses

Governance 13.4

Governance evaluates a company's overall mission, engagement around its social/environmental impact, ethics, and transparency. This section also evaluates the ability of a company to protect their mission and formally consider stakeholders in decision making through their corporate structure (e.g. benefit corporation) or corporate governing documents.

Mission & Engagement1.5
Ethics & Transparency1.8
+ Mission Locked10

What is this? A company with an Impact Business Model is intentionally designed to create a specific positive outcome for one of its stakeholders - such as workers, community, environment, or customers.


Workers 17.9

Workers evaluates a company’s contributions to its employees’ financial security, health & safety, wellness, career development, and engagement & satisfaction. In addition, this section recognizes business models designed to benefit workers, such as companies that are at least 40% owned by non-executive employees and those that have workforce development programs to support individuals with barriers to employment.

Financial Security3.4
Health, Wellness, & Safety2.7
Career Development3.0
Engagement & Satisfaction5.2

Community 12.9

Community evaluates a company’s engagement with and impact on the communities in which it operates, hires from, and sources from. Topics include diversity, equity & inclusion, economic impact, civic engagement, charitable giving, and supply chain management. In addition, this section recognizes business models that are designed to address specific community-oriented problems, such as poverty alleviation through fair trade sourcing or distribution via microenterprises, producer cooperative models, locally focused economic development, and formal charitable giving commitments.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion4.3
Economic Impact5.2
Civic Engagement & Giving0.7
Supply Chain Management1.7

Environment 15.2

Environment evaluates a company’s overall environmental management practices as well as its impact on the air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity. This includes the direct impact of a company’s operations and, when applicable its supply chain and distribution channels. This section also recognizes companies with environmentally innovative production processes and those that sell products or services that have a positive environmental impact. Some examples might include products and services that create renewable energy, reduce consumption or waste, conserve land or wildlife, provide less toxic alternatives to the market, or educate people about environmental problems.

Environmental Management0.3
Air & Climate4.8
Water0.0
Land & Life1.1

Customers 30.7

Customers evaluates a company’s stewardship of its customers through the quality of its products and services, ethical marketing, data privacy and security, and feedback channels. In addition, this section recognizes products or services that are designed to address a particular social problem for or through its customers, such as health or educational products, arts & media products, serving underserved customers/clients, and services that improve the social impact of other businesses or organizations.

Customer Stewardship3.7
+ Business Model and Engagement13.6
+ Quality and Continuous Improvement1.7
+ Educational Outcomes2.7
+ Educational Models and Engagement2
+ Student Outcomes1.6
+ Student Outcomes (Traditional Students)4.9

What is this? A company with an Impact Business Model is intentionally designed to create a specific positive outcome for one of its stakeholders - such as workers, community, environment, or customers.



Previous Overall B Impact Scores

2023 Overall B Impact Score90.3

Additional Documentation

IU Group_Disclosure report_Litigation and arbitration_2020

IU Group ESG Report for 2022


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