June 2019
Domini Funds shareholders use their investment dollars to make a difference, helping to build a world of universal human dignity and ecological sustainability. We are excited to release the Domini Funds 2018 Impact Report , which details the many ways we work for change on behalf of our fund shareholders.
Highlights of our 2018 impacts include:
- In light of the urgent need to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future, we expanded our exclusionary screen on fossil fuels . While we previously excluded oil and natural gas exploration and production companies from our investment portfolios, we now also exclude oil and gas equipment and service providers, refiners, marketers, and storage and transportation companies.
- To ensure our investment evaluations remain focused on the most meaningful and relevant information, we refined and enhanced our research process for automobile manufacturers, healthcare equipment providers, and pharmaceutical companies.
- We launched a unique, innovative new investment strategy for the Domini Impact Equity Fund , designed to provide exposure to the U.S. economy through the lens of the classic impact investor, with an added emphasis on innovation and sustainability.
- We tied our Impact Investment Standards to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to demonstrate how we believe our social and environmental standards help us build SDG-aligned portfolios.
- The Domini Impact Bond Fund continued to direct capital to investments that support access to housing, healthcare, economic and community development, environmental sustainability , and more. As of December 31, the Fund had $24.3 million invested in bonds that finance low- and very low-income housing and $4.9 million invested in green bonds.
- We engaged in direct dialogue with 135 companies and fixed-income issuers on a variety of issues related to the environment, human rights, public health and safety and more. The many topics addressed in our dialogues included employee and supply chain labor rights, access to medicine, gun violence, opioid accountability, climate change, and deforestation.
- Building on our long history of collaborating with other investors and civil society organizations, we joined several new initiatives , including the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, the Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance, the Thirty Percent Coalition, and the Investor Agenda: Accelerating Action for a Low-Carbon Future.
- The Domini Impact International Equity Fund and the Domini Impact Equity Fund collectively voted on 4,463 management and shareholder proposals at 341 corporate meetings during the 2018 proxy season. Among other topics, our votes promoted diverse and independent boards of directors and fair and just compensation practices. We also supported 108 shareholder proposals on a variety of environmental, social and governance issues.
- We filed or refiled 4 shareholder proposals for the 2018 proxy season and 3 for the 2019 proxy season . Our proposal at Walgreens Boots Alliance, seeking a report on governance measures related to opioids, received strong shareholder support with 60% of the votes.
Our shareholders want to know how their investments make a difference, and we are excited to continue that conversation with the release of this report. More than ever, we remain committed to showing that The Way You Invest Matters.®