Public Eye
Public Eye is a Swiss nonprofit investigative organization that exposes corruption, human rights violations, and environmental harm caused by Swiss companies abroad, serving approximately 29,000 members through reports, campaigns, and advocacy.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1971
- HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Public Eye does
Public Eye (formerly Déclaration de Berne) is a Swiss nonprofit investigative organization founded in 1971 and headquartered in Zürich, with a French-language office in Lausanne. It investigates and exposes the impact of Switzerland and Swiss companies on human rights, labor conditions, corruption, and the environment in economically disadvantaged countries. Core outputs include investigative reports, factsheets, press releases, a regular email newsletter, the 'Mon œil!' podcast, public events, and the annual Investigation Award at the Green Film Festival. The organization runs high-profile advocacy campaigns such as #StopChiquita, with deep-dive investigations hosted on the 'stories.publiceye.ch' immersive storytelling platform.
The organization is funded primarily through recurring membership fees from approximately 28,000–29,000 individual members, supplemented by donations, bequests, online publication sales via its shop, and limited institutional grants from a fragmented base of Swiss foundations and religious-parish funders; public funds account for less than 5% of total income. It maintains strict independence by refusing corporate donations, holds ZEWO certification (renewed 2021), and reports under SWISS GAAP RPC 21. Its technology stack is built on standard SaaS tools (ActiveCampaign, Matomo, Paperform, Zapier, Twilio, RaiseNow, Meta Pixel) used for donation processing, newsletter distribution, campaign mobilization, and web analytics — it does not develop proprietary technology products.
Public Eye firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Public Eye
- Legal name
- Public Eye
- Website
- https://publiceye.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1971
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Public Eye is a Swiss nonprofit investigative organization that exposes corruption, human rights violations, and environmental harm caused by Swiss companies abroad, serving approximately 29,000 members through reports, campaigns, and advocacy.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Public Eye industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Investigative Journalism and Advocacy
- NAICS
- Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)
- SIC
- International Affairs (9721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Public Affairs, Government Relations & Lobbying (BPAFADAB), Public Communications, Transparency & Open Government (BPAIAAAH)
Keywords
Where Public Eye is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zürich
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Public Eye business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership fees: Primary funding source from approximately 28,000-29,000 members who pay membership fees, providing financial stability and independence.
- Donations and bequests: Individual donations and bequests represent a growing share of funding, demonstrating long-term supporter confidence. Public Eye maintains strict independence from corporate donations.
- Publication sales: Sale of reports, factsheets, magazines and educational materials through their online shop.
- Institutional funding: Support from foundations including Geneva Federation for Cooperation and Development (FGC), Vaud Federation for Cooperation (Fedevaco), GlobalLokal Foundation, Lucerne Catholic Parish, and Berne Reformist Parish. Public funds cover less than 5% of total income.
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Public Eye product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Public Eye is a Swiss investigative nonprofit organization that produces in-depth reports, factsheets, podcasts, and advocacy campaigns examining the impact of Switzerland and Swiss companies on human rights, the environment, and development in economically disadvantaged countries. Its work covers commodities trading, corruption, fashion supply chains, pesticides, the pharmaceutical industry, seeds, and trade policy. The organization distributes its research through a multilingual website, an online shop, a membership program, public events, and the annual Investigation Award for investigative journalism.
Product overview
Public Eye is a Swiss NGO focused on global justice that operates as a single, unified advocacy and publishing organization rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings consist of investigative reports, factsheets, newsletters, podcasts, and advocacy campaigns examining the impact of Switzerland and Swiss companies on global issues. The organization's main products include publications covering topics such as commodities, corruption, fashion, pesticides, pharmaceutical industry, seeds, and trade policy. Public Eye also organizes the annual Investigation Award and conducts campaigns like #StopChiquita. Additional offerings include a podcast, educational materials, an online shop, and events. The organization maintains Zewo certification as a recognized not-for-profit.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Reports & Factsheets
Companies that use Public Eye
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Public Eye technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Public Eye partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Hinderling VolkartminorCreative agency responsible for website conception, design, and frontend development. Website redesign completed in 2018.
- RTP GmbHminorTechnical implementation partner for the Content Management System. Collaborated on 2018 website redesign.
- Twilio Inc.minorUS service provider used to send text messages and WhatsApp communications for campaign engagement. Data processing agreement in place.
- RaiseNowminorExternal payment partner certified according to PCI DSS. Handles credit card processing for donations and shop purchases. Public Eye does not store credit card details.
- Meta Platforms Ireland LimitedminorMeta Pixel and Conversions API integrated on campaign pages for advertising targeting and conversion tracking. Website provider has no knowledge of data use by Meta.
- Geneva Federation for Cooperation and Development (FGC)minorInstitutional funder supporting Public Eye's operations and mission.
- Vaud Federation for Cooperation (Fedevaco)minorInstitutional funder supporting Public Eye's operations and mission.
- GlobalLokal FoundationminorInstitutional funder supporting Public Eye's operations and mission.
- Lucerne Catholic ParishminorInstitutional funder supporting Public Eye's operations and mission.
- Berne Reformist ParishminorInstitutional funder supporting Public Eye's operations and mission.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Public Eye competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Greenpeace: Independent campaigning organization using investigations and direct action to challenge corporate and government practices. Overlaps with Public Eye on commodity supply chains, fossil fuels, and corporate accountability themes.
- Human Rights Watch: Large international investigative and advocacy organization. Comparable in producing rigorous reports that target governments and corporations, and in relying on individual donor support to maintain independence.
- Oxfam: Global confederation focused on inequality, corporate accountability, and human rights. Comparable advocacy on Swiss-listed commodity traders, garment supply chains, and pharma pricing, with a far larger scale and international supporter base.
- Global Witness: Investigative NGO focused on corruption, extractives, and corporate accountability. Highly comparable mission, donor-funded model, and use of high-impact investigative reports to drive campaigns.
- Amnesty International: Global human-rights movement that combines investigative research with membership-based advocacy. Closely comparable operating model (members, donations, reports, campaigns) and a much larger international footprint.
- SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations): Dutch-based research NGO investigating multinational corporate behavior. Closely mirrors Public Eye's approach of sector-specific corporate accountability research (commodities, pharma, finance) and is a natural European counterpart.
- Transparency International: Global coalition producing investigative reports and indices on corruption and corporate accountability. Most directly comparable to Public Eye's corruption and commodities investigations, with a similarly advocacy-driven, research-based model.
Regional players
- Swissaid: Swiss development and advocacy NGO addressing global justice issues with a similar Swiss-based, donor-funded model. Comparable in geographic and funding profile, but with more emphasis on direct development programs versus corporate investigations.
- Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World): German development and human-rights organization with comparable advocacy on global justice, supply-chain accountability, and human rights. Operates in a similar thematic space but from a German institutional base.
Emerging players
- Public Citizen: US-based consumer-rights and corporate-accountability advocacy group. Comparable in producing investigative reports and running campaigns targeting specific corporations, but primarily operates in a different regulatory and donor environment.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Public Eye social profiles
Digital presencePublic Eye compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Public Eye financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Public Eye leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Public Eye funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Public Eye M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Public Eye
What does Public Eye do?
Public Eye is a Swiss investigative nonprofit organization that produces in-depth reports, factsheets, podcasts, and advocacy campaigns examining the impact of Switzerland and Swiss companies on human rights, the environment, and development in economically disadvantaged countries. Its work covers commodities trading, corruption, fashion supply chains, pesticides, the pharmaceutical industry, seeds, and trade policy. The organization distributes its research through a multilingual website, an online shop, a membership program, public events, and the annual Investigation Award for investigative journalism.
Is Public Eye a public or private company?
Public Eye is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Public Eye founded?
Public Eye was founded in 1971. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Public Eye based?
Public Eye is headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Public Eye make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Membership fees are the primary driver. The others are donations and bequests, publication sales and institutional funding.
Who are Public Eye's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Greenpeace, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, Global Witness, Amnesty International, SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations) and Transparency International. Regional players are Swissaid and Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World). Public Citizen is listed as an emerging player.
Does Public Eye have an API?
No public API is recorded for Public Eye.
What industry is Public Eye in?
Public Eye's product category is Investigative Journalism and Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHALAF, Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research, with a secondary code of BPAFADAB, Public Affairs, Government Relations & Lobbying. Its NAICS code is 541910 and its SIC code is 9721.