2003 SOCIAL IMPACT
As a shareholder in the Domini Funds, you make a difference
in the world. Listed below are highlights of how you made a difference in 2003.
Corporate Advocacy
In recent years, overproduction and falling prices have led
to a crisis in the coffee market, leaving millions of farmers unable to feed,
clothe, and educate their families. The Fair Trade certification system helps
to alleviate poverty and suffering by guaranteeing farmers a minimum price of
$1.26 per pound, far above current market levels. In September, after months of
dialogue with an investor group co-led by Domini, Procter & Gamble
offered its first line of Fair Trade Certified® coffee.
Despite the epidemic of breast cancer among American women,
there is still insufficient understanding of its causes. At Avon Products,
Domini sponsored the first shareholder resolution ever filed regarding
parabens, chemicals found in cosmetics that may be implicated in breast cancer.
Public
Policy
Proxy Voting Transparency: Do
you know how your mutual fund is voting? Domini has been disclosing its proxy
voting guidelines since 1992, and its actual votes since 1999. In response to
separate petitions from Domini, the AFL-CIO, and the Teamsters union, the
Securities and Exchange Commission ruled that all mutual funds must disclose their proxy voting policies,
procedures, and actual votes.
Corporate Free Speech Rights: When California activist Marc Kasky tried to hold
Nike accountable for statements about its use of sweatshop labor, the company
claimed these statements were protected as “noncommercial” or “political”
speech.Domini filed an amicus brief with the
U.S. Supreme Court, supporting Kasky and arguing that Nike’s position threatens
investors’ ability to obtain information from corporations on a timely and
accurate basis.
A New Forum for Dialogue: Domini
Chief Investment Officer Steve Lydenberg helped launch the Institute
for Responsible Investment, an affiliate of The Center for Corporate
Citizenship at Boston College. The Institute provides a platform for dialogue
on fundamental issues and theories underlying socially responsible investing
and corporate citizenship.
