Pillar Two Pty Ltd

What Pillar Two Pty Ltd does

Pillar Two Pty Ltd is an Australian-headquartered specialist advisory firm that helps corporations, governments, and industry associations manage business and human rights risk and comply with mandatory due-diligence regimes such as Australia's Modern Slavery Act 2018, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the EU Forced Labour Regulation, and the US Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act. The firm was founded in Melbourne in April 2019 by Vanessa Zimmerman, a former legal advisor to the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights (John Ruggie) and core drafter of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), who also spent ten years leading Rio Tinto's human rights programme.

The firm delivers bespoke consulting across six interconnected practice areas: human rights policy development and risk management, stakeholder engagement, human rights reporting, training/awareness programmes, modern slavery statement preparation, and government and industry engagement. It does not sell a software product or platform; the underlying methodology is expert judgment applied to international frameworks (UNGPs, OECD Guidelines) tailored to client circumstances. The team is distributed globally — across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia — and draws senior talent from the UN system, FIFA, Twitter, BCG, the Australian Government (including the official who drafted the Modern Slavery Act), King & Wood Mallesons, and the World Benchmarking Alliance.

Pillar Two operates as a private, founder-owned professional services firm with 11-50 employees, no external institutional investment, and no public revenue disclosure. It generates revenue through project-based consulting engagements with multi-year contract cadences, priced custom upon enquiry. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales — direct outreach, thought-leadership content marketing via its Featured Insights blog, media appearances, conference participation, and referrals — targeting large multinational corporations (across banking, extractives, fashion, food and beverage, infrastructure, property, sport, technology, and telecommunications) and government/industry bodies. The firm's competitive positioning rests on the personal credentials of its leadership in the global business-and-human-rights policy ecosystem and on its embedded advisory roles with regulators and standards-setting bodies.

Name

Pillar Two Pty Ltd

Legal name

Pillar Two Pty Ltd

Website

https://pillar-two.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pillar Two is a Melbourne-based specialist advisory firm founded in 2019 that helps large corporations, governments, and industry associations manage business and human rights risks and comply with mandatory due-diligence regimes such as Australia's Modern Slavery Act, EU CSDDD, and the EU Forced Labour Regulation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

ESG Advisory and Human Rights Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

HR Policy, Governance, Compliance & Risk Advisory (BPACAJAF)

Keywords

• Human rights advisory
• Modern slavery compliance
• Human rights due diligence
• Business and human rights consulting
• ESG advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Advisory Consulting Services: Pillar Two generates revenue through providing expert advisory consulting services to businesses on human rights policy development, risk management, stakeholder engagement, reporting, and training. Services are tailored to client needs and delivered through project-based engagements. The firm also supports government and industry bodies on policy development and guidance creation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pillar Two is a specialist advisory firm providing bespoke consulting services to corporations and governments on business and human rights. The firm delivers six interconnected practice areas: human rights policy development and risk management, stakeholder engagement, human rights reporting, human rights awareness/training programmes, modern slavery statements, and government and industry engagement. Services are tailored to client needs and grounded in international frameworks including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

Product overview

Pillar Two is a specialist business and human rights advisory firm offering consulting services rather than a software product. The company provides advisory services across six interconnected practice areas: Human Rights Policy Development & Risk Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Human Rights Reporting, Human Rights Awareness Programmes (training), Modern Slavery Statements, and Government & Industry Engagement. These services work together as an integrated advisory offering to help businesses respect human rights and comply with regulatory requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Human Rights Policy Development & Risk Management

Quantifiable outcome

• Media coverage and thought leadership on Australian Modern Slavery Act implementation and compliance
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Global Compact Network AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Vanessa Zimmerman serves as Board Member of the Global Compact Network Australia and chairs its Modern Slavery Community of Practice. The Global Compact Network Australia is the Australian business-led network of the UN Global Compact, Australia's leading corporate sustainability initiative.
• International Bar Association (Business and Human Rights Committee)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Vanessa Zimmerman serves as an officer of the International Bar Association's Business and Human Rights Committee. Team member Maria Pia Sacco also serves as an officer of the same committee.
• Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Vanessa Zimmerman is an IHRB Research Fellow and has previously worked with IHRB on key global business and human rights initiatives. IHRB is a leading international think tank on business and human rights.
• UN Global CompactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner Alice Cope previously served as Executive Director of UN Global Compact Network Australia and was appointed to the UN Global Compact board as a representative of the initiative's 80+ country networks. The UN Global Compact is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative.
• Australian Government Expert Advisory GroupscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Vanessa Zimmerman has been appointed to multiple Australian government expert advisory groups including the Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group, the National Roundtable on Human Trafficking and Slavery, and the Governance and Advisory Board to the Australian National Contact under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (based in Cth Treasury).
• Global Business Initiative on Human Rights (GBIHR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Vanessa Zimmerman has advised GBIHR and team member Riana Cermak previously worked as a Manager with GBIHR where she led the member peer learning program and legal and policy initiatives.
• World Benchmarking AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam members Shamistha Awity and Talya Swissa previously worked at the World Benchmarking Alliance. Shamistha was appointed as Gender Lead engaging with the private sector on gender equality and human rights due diligence. Talya led global engagement for the Social Transformation team overseeing the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark.
• Australian Human Rights CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirector Sarah McGrath previously served at the Australian Human Rights Commission in leadership roles working on business and human rights issues.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• FTI Consulting: Global advisory firm with a Human Rights & International Law practice supporting companies on due diligence, modern slavery compliance, and stakeholder engagement. Competes for enterprise human rights mandates, with broader scale and bundled service offerings.
• BSR (Business for Social Responsibility): Global sustainable business network and consultancy with deep human rights practice across supply chains, modern slavery, and policy. A larger incumbent that often competes for similar enterprise human rights mandates, though with broader sustainability scope.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Global sustainability consultancy with strong human rights and social impact advisory practice, particularly in extractives, infrastructure, and manufacturing. Comparable client verticals (extractives, infrastructure) and overlap in modern slavery and supply chain due diligence services.
• Deloitte ESG & Human Rights Practice: Global consulting leader with dedicated human rights advisory practice covering supply chain due diligence, modern slavery compliance, and ESG strategy. Competes for the same large enterprise clients Pillar Two targets, often with bundled transformation mandates.
• KPMG ESG Advisory: Big-4 firm with global ESG and human rights due diligence practice serving large enterprises on modern slavery, CSDDD readiness, and sustainability reporting. Represents the incumbent scale competitive threat against Pillar Two's specialist positioning.

Emerging players

• Shift: Center for business and human rights practice (non-profit) led by former UNGP lead author Caroline Rees. While non-profit, Shift conducts human rights advisory and training for companies and governments — partial overlap with Pillar Two's policy advisory and capacity-building services.

Direct peers

• Verisk Maplecroft: Global risk analytics and advisory firm specializing in human rights, political, and ESG risk. The most direct specialist competitor to Pillar Two, serving enterprise and government clients with human rights risk assessments, country/sector risk data, and policy advisory across multinational supply chains.
• Article One Advisors: Human rights strategy and policy advisory firm serving global brands and governments on supply chain due diligence, modern slavery, and stakeholder engagement. Highly comparable service mix and customer profile to Pillar Two, particularly in apparel, extractives, and tech.
• TwentyFifty (Tailorsmith): Specialist consultancy advising companies on modern slavery, human rights due diligence, and responsible business. Comparable in size and focus to Pillar Two, with similar client base of large enterprises needing UNGP-aligned policy and reporting support.

Regional players

• Frank Bold Group: European sustainability advisory firm focused on responsible business, human rights due diligence, and EU regulatory compliance. Strong regional overlap with Pillar Two's government/policy advisory work, particularly on EU CSDDD implementation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pillar-two

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Pillar Two Pty Ltd