Domini’s Commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Actions:

• Annually consider additional or amended key performance indicators that explicitly address issues of Justice and Diversity as guided by our processes.
• Monitor emerging best practices on data, company expectations, and regulatory frameworks and consider relevant updates to Domini’s Impact Investment Standards.
• We consider companies ensuring Indigenous communities have the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and recognize their right to self-determination as a positive indicator in our research and in certain industries is considered a key performance indicator in our assessment.
• We seek fixed income investments that support historically underserved communities and their access to capital for necessary infrastructure.

2023: Domini updated and integrated intersectionality between diversity and just transition in the context of climate change as a part of the universal KPI including race, gender, income among other characteristics. The integration specifically considers each of the stakeholders both for challenges and opportunities to ensure just transition relates to workers, customers, local communities including indigenous communities as well as suppliers in the context of climate change.

2021: We updated and integrated intersectionality between race and gender as a part of our universal KPI with emphasis on representation of women of color at the board level as well as at the executive management level.

2020: Domini formally adopted diversity and inclusion as a universal key performance indicator across all industries. Prior to that, Domini had informally implemented diversity as a singular universal KPI since 2018.

2019: Domini formalized its practice of excluding private prison operators and immigration detention centers as a part of addressing systemic racism.

Additional context and history are available in the Domini Racial Justice Plan (pdf)

Actions:

• Continue to engage with companies to encourage assessment of impacts of the business on Justice and Diversity. As needed, encourage the adoption of policies and practices to further racial justice and diversity through business models and relationships with stakeholders, including by identifying and taking remedial measures (reparations) for any harm caused related to systemic and structural racism, systemic and structural discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation or identity, and other forms of discrimination. Encourage best practices to foster inclusive and equitable representation, access and opportunity and to remove barriers to access to products and services for historically underrepresented groups.
• Continue to engage with companies on workforce equity issues, worker-driven solutions, just transition, and related disclosures, noting potential disparate impacts on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) workers and consider the intersectional effect of other socio-economic characteristics such as race, gender, gender identity, disability, religion, and income.
• Continue to apply a racial justice lens, center affected communities, and look to affected communities for guidance and leadership on expectations and priorities.
• Regularly review and update proxy voting guidelines regarding diversity (subject to oversight and approval by the Domini Funds Board of Trustees) and amplify the impact of our voting practices through communications with issuers and our impact reporting.
• Continue to engage on relevant public policy and support corporate reporting that enables more robust analysis of diversity and justice.
• While acting independently and exercising its sole discretion on investment decisions, proxy voting, or engagement with issuers, continue to build relationships, foster industry collaboration and field building to advance justice and diversity through investing, coherence of expectations, and investor momentum.
• Evaluate opportunities to assess and transparently communicate outcomes of engagements on advancing racial equity, gender and racial diversity and building a society that is fair and equitable for all.

2022 – 2023: Domini conducted 64 and 96 engagements, respectively, on justice and diversity, including on board diversity, racial equity audits, workplace discrimination, gender, industry proxy voting practices, public speaking about our Plan, engagements with policy makers on relevant public policy, and incorporated a racial justice lens into 198 and 122 engagements for each period.

2019: Domini adopted a new board diversity proxy voting standard and began opposing the election of some or all directors related to racial and gender diversity. We vote against some or all board members where historically underrepresented ethnic and racial groups make up less than 40% or at least three members of the board (whichever is greater). We vote against some board members where women make up less than 40% or three (whichever is greater) members of the board. We vote against the entire slate of nominees if there are no female or no persons from historically underrepresented racial groups on the board.

Since Domini’s inception in 1991, our proxy voting guidelines have included diversity requirements for voting on board composition and we have supported shareholder resolutions that have asked for reports that company undertake studies to assure that all women and minorities are paid comparably to their counterparts. Domini regularly engage issuers on gender representation on corporate boards, with an emphasis on markets where women are under-represented. For many years, Domini has engaged with Japanese issuers to encourage increased representation of women on the board, recommending specific actions, including setting targets, building a pipeline of qualified candidates, hiring search firms to help them increase diversity, and joining organizations for peer learning. 

Additional context and history are available in the Domini Racial Justice Plan (pdf)

Actions:

• Continue to seek investments that help finance and promote a more just economy for BIPOC communities. Where data is available, we seek to evaluate relevant information related to diversity and systemic racism and its impacts on business models, leadership, and stakeholders to inform decision-making.
• Continue to seek useful, consistent, relevant metrics that help evaluate portfolio impact.
• Continue to communicate investment impact through regular public reporting, where data is available.

Since 2000, Domini has sought fixed income investments that seek to support BIPOC communities through access to capital, creation of public goods, and filling capital gaps left by current financial practices.

Additional context and history are available in the Domini Racial Justice Plan (pdf)

Actions:

• Continue to seek to interview at least one BIPOC candidate for each job opening.
• Continue to disseminate job postings widely to enhance representation of BIPOC candidates and new hires.
• Consider use of a recruiter when possible to expand scope of hiring search.
• Seek to establish relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and schools with diverse student bodies to build relationships and foster a hiring pipeline.
• Continue to communicate commitment to being an equal opportunity employer in job postings.
• Maintain a list of trade associations and relevant hiring resources to help identify a diverse pool of employment candidates as such entities become known.

2023: Domini engaged four interns from diverse backgrounds for a six-week experiential learning opportunity designed to introduce students to the field of finance, promote professional development, and stimulate awareness of impact investing. Domini representatives initiated complementary admission to industry events for economically and racially diverse students.

2022 and 2023: Domini successfully considered at least one diverse candidate for each position filled during each year.  Domini representatives presented information related to impact investing and financial services to student populations at colleges and universities with economically and racially diverse student bodies.  

2022: Domini created a 2023 summer internship program to recruit BIPOC candidates from New York City-based non-profit academic institutions to initiate interaction in the field of finance and stimulate awareness of impact investing. Domini engaged a BIPOC recruiter to enhance our pipeline to BIPOC candidates and participated in the recruiter’s webinar to promote careers in finance and impact investing broadly across the recruiter’s candidate base. In 2022, Domini considered at least one BIPOC candidate for each position filled.

2021: Domini adopted new hiring practices including the utilization of recruiting firms to help ensure that at least one BIPOC candidate is interviewed for every job opening.

Additional context and history are available in the Domini Racial Justice Plan (pdf)

Actions:

• Continue to conduct regular firmwide training on topics including diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism, systemic racism, belonging, bias, respect, etc. to build capacity and a shared understanding.
• Maintain voluntary employee demographic data regarding race, ethnicity, and gender to measure workforce diversity and update it annually.
• Continue to periodically conduct compensation study to assess pay equity.
• Continue to seek opportunities to recognize and celebrate diverse history, culture and influence and support other practices to strengthen inclusion and belonging.
• Continue to include support of the Plan in the development goals that impact enterprise compensation and levels for all team members.
• Organize project to highlight Domini’s art and memorabilia to celebrate diverse culture and arts, and provide information on how it was curated.

2023: Domini hosted a Black History Month learning and discussion session for staff, focused on Black Wall Street and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

2022: Domini staff members visited the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian to deepen the understanding and celebrate Indigenous cultures. We held an educational session and discussion on Indigenous Peoples, cultures, and history in relation to finance.

2021: Domini added Martin Luther King Day to our paid holiday calendar to celebrate BIPOC history, influence, and leadership. Domini conducted a voluntary employee diversity survey regarding race/ethnicity to help measure its workforce diversity and updated its employment process to help ensure that survey results could be updated at least annually.

2020: Domini added Juneteenth (June 19^th) to our paid holiday calendar to recognize and celebrate the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States.

Additional context and history are available in the Domini Racial Justice Plan (pdf)

Actions

• Continue to engage new and existing suppliers, consultants and other business partners with significant business relationships on their Justice and Diversity  policies, leadership, and impacts.
• Develop guidance on procurement to integrate considerations on Justice and Diversity into decision-making.

2022: we developed a framework for requesting and reviewing racial diversity and justice reporting and practices that was incorporated into our annual due diligence and onboarding process for significant business partners.

Additional context and history are available in the Domini Racial Justice Plan (pdf)

Actions:

Continue to Implement best practices across all communication channels, including marketing, such as:

• Use of respectful and appropriate language and imagery.
• Require inquiry on BIPOC and gender representation prior to Domini participation on all conference panels.
• Seeking representation of at least one BIPOC representative for Domini organized events such as conferences and webinars.
• Require inquiry on BIPOC and gender representation on speaking panels for Domini sponsorship of conferences.

2022: Domini implemented guidelines firm-wide to be utilized across all communication channels, including marketing, to help ensure compliance with best practices for use of respectful and appropriate language and imagery.

Additional context and history are available in the Domini Racial Justice Plan (pdf)

Actions:

• Continue to maintain implementation matrix with timeline to monitor the goals and actions of our Plan.

2022: Domini created an implementation matrix with timelines to implement and monitor the goals and actions of our Plan.

Additional context and history are available in the Domini Racial Justice Plan (pdf)

Approved at the most senior level of the institution.

• The Domini Standards Committee, which is comprised of Domini’s most senior-level environmental and social expertise, is responsible for the Domini Standards and engagement activities.

Informed by relevant expertise.

• Informed by human rights expertise on our staff.
• WoCollaborated with external consultant.

Describes expectations of relationships.

• Expand our human rights expectations in Domini Impact Investment Standards.
• Seek to center affected communities and look to those communities for guidance and leadership in engagements.

Communicate publicly and actively, internally and externally.

• Published on Domini website and share on social media.
• Disseminated detailed plan internally containing information such as responsible party, timeline and budget.

Embedded throughout the business, including within other policies and procedures.

• Plan covers Domini overarching standards, detailed key performance indicators used in investment selection and engagement to hold companies and issuers accountable.

Approach is grounded in the institution’s policy commitment and embedded into governance systems.

• Policy commitment integrated into Plan (see Policy Commitment above).

Allocation of responsibility and accountability is assigned to specific functions.

• Domini’s internal documents specify parties responsible, timeline and budget.

Ultimate responsibility and accountability for implementation assigned to senior leadership.

• Senior Domini leaders developed our “As an Investor” actions and goals and will monitor progress annually.

Board of Directors has oversight of and receives regular updates on implementation of the policy commitment from senior management.

• Domini reports updates to our Domini Impact Investment Standards to the Domini Funds Board of Trustees.

Resources are allocated for implementation of commitment.

• Domini’s internal documents specify parties responsible, timeline and budget.

Capacity building takes place across all functions.

• Domini’s senior staff provide training to research and engagement departments.
• External training conducted as needed.

Clear procedures for selection, engagement, oversight (e.g., portfolio companies).

• Domini’s Standards and Key Performance Indicators provide clear procedures for selection and Domini’s Annual Engagement plan provides specific actions.

Provide a summary of the company’s disclosed human rights policies and processes, as well as key gaps in the implementation of the corporate responsibility to respect human rights.

• Domini maintains a proprietary database to maintain all data collected on a company’s environmental and social performance as directed by its subindustry key performance indicators. Diversity is a universal Key Performance Indicator and additional metrics on systemic racism have been identified and integrated into the research training and process.

Approved at the most senior level of the institution.

• Our “As a Business” Actions and Goals have been approved by our most senior executives.

Informed by relevant expertise.

• Informed by human resources and human rights expertise on our staff.
• Worked with external consultant.

Describes expectations of relationships.

• Our “As a Business” Goals and Actions provide clear, concrete description of expectations.

Communicate publicly and actively, internally and externally.

• Publish on Domini website and share on social media.
• Disseminate detailed Plan internally containing information such as responsible party, timeline and budget.

Embedded throughout the business, including within other policies and procedures.

To be integrated into Domini’s Employee Manual.

Domini procurement guide to be created.

On an ongoing basis, provide periodic staff training regarding Plan Goals and Actions.

Approach is grounded in the institution’s policy commitment and embedded into governance systems.

• Policy commitment integrated into Domini Impact Investment Standards (see Policy Commitment above).

Allocation of responsibility and accountability is assigned to specific functions.

• Domini’s internal documents specify parties responsible, timeline and budget.

Ultimate responsibility and accountability for implementation assigned to senior leadership.

• Senior Domini leaders developed our “As a Business” actions and goals and will monitor progress bi-annually.

Board of Directors has oversight of and receives regular updates on implementation of the policy commitment from senior management.

• The Managers of Domini’s limited liability company have participated and overseen the development of our “As a Business” Plan and will receive regular updates.

Resources are allocated for implementation of commitment.

• Domini’s internal Plan documents specify parties responsible, timeline and budget.

Capacity building takes place across all functions.

• Domini will conduct firm-wide training and seek additional training where needed.

Clear procedures for selection, engagement, oversight, and review of all business partners (e.g., consultants and other service providers).

• Domini senior staff is responsible for developing a plan for engagement and procurement standards to integrate into all business relationships where it is not yet in place.