“We build bridges between business, academia, governments and civil society”

OUR APPROACH

Sibylle Baumgartner and Matthias Leisinger founded focusright in 2017 with the vision of making human rights tangible for business and initiating change. With this end in view, we support our clients in embedding human rights and environmental due diligence in their business practices.

With extensive experience in the private sector and in consulting, as well as a broad national and international network of civil society, government, academia and business representatives, we understand the challenges companies face in implementing human rights due diligence. We work in a solution-oriented manner and help to develop effective strategies – even where different interests clash. Our mission: With our pragmatic solutions, every client understands its impact and is empowered for change.

As thought leaders in the field of business and human rights, we align our work with international human rights standards and legal frameworks - and always keep our finger on the pulse of ongoing developments.

TEAM

Sibylle Baumgartner

Director, Co-Founder

Sibylle has longstanding experience in the field of responsible business with a specific focus on social aspects. She has worked with companies from various industries focusing on elaborating responsible business strategies, implementing sustainable supply chain management and developing human rights due diligence frameworks.

Languages: German, French, English, Spanish

Matthias Leisinger

Director, Co-Founder

Matthias is a specialist in corporate responsibility with extensive experience in the private sector. His professional goal is driving change to create a more sustainable business model, which delivers commercial success. He has a record of success in human rights due diligence, capacity building and developing and managing multi-stakeholder initiatives.

Languages: German, English, French

Yolinka Vossen

Consultant

Yolinka has several years of experience in the implementation of human rights due diligence in various sectors. Before joining focusright, she investigated success factors for the implementation of human rights due diligence in collaboration with large Swiss corporations for her Master's thesis and worked in a procurement optimisation consultancy on projects to optimise procurement processes and logistics costs for SMEs.

Languages: German, English, French

Dominic Rietmann

Consultant

Dominic has several years of operational experience in responsible business conduct and the implementation of human rights due diligence. Before joining focusright, Dominic worked in sustainability at the Federation of Migros Cooperatives. There he worked on projects in the areas of sustainable supply chains and responsible business and was responsible for the implementation of human rights due diligence in the specialist markets.

Languages: German, English, French

Carina Waser

Consultant

Carina has a legal background with a specialisation in international law. Prior to joining focusright, she gained experience in human rights and corporate sustainability at the United Nations Global Compact, a human rights due diligence consultancy, and a legal advisory dedicated to the rights of refugees and migrants. Carina researched human rights obligations in the context of environmental damage caused by transnational corporations in the Global South for her master’s thesis.

Languages: German, English, French

EVENTS

Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) Peer Learning & Networking Group

focusright moderates the HRDD Peer Learning & Networking Group from the UN Global Compact Network Switzerland & Liechtenstein (GCNSL), which provides a platform for regular exchange among business and human rights professionals in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The peer learning group meets about every three months for informal virtual or in-person discussions on questions, learnings, insights and challenges with peers. The group is open for employees of for-profit companies working on topics related to business and human rights – from beginners, intermediates and experts.

Participation requirements

Active participation in informal group discussions
Willingness to share own experiences and learn from others
Private sector staff with a professional link to business and human rights
Being a client of focusright, a participant of the GCNSL or a member of öbu
Since the goal of the group is for participants to share their challenges and learn from peers, consulting or law firms are not accepted into the group

Language: English

Information

CLIENTS

Click on the logos below for more information about some of our clients from different sectors. To learn more about our completed projects, visit our services page.