New York, NY—Domini Impact Investments LLC, an SEC-registered asset manager with an exclusive focus on sustainable and impact investing, filed a shareholder proposal, calling on The Kroger Company to adopt a worker-driven model to help identify and prevent human rights abuses in its agricultural supply chain.
The proposal requests that Kroger “report on how implementing worker-driven social responsibility (WSR) principles would impact the Company’s ability to identify and effectively prevent actual and potential human rights abuses, such as forced labor, in the agricultural supply chain.” It will be voted on by Kroger shareholders at its 2025 Annual Meeting, which will be held on Thursday, June 26 (Update: The proposal received 15.0% support). The proposal will be presented by Eric Schlosser, journalist, food writer, and author of the New York Times bestseller Fast Food Nation.
Domini’s Director of Engagement, Mary Beth Gallagher, commented, “Kroger has an extensive agricultural supply chain, where workers might face wage theft, forced labor, or increasing heat stress from climate change. We know there are human rights programs that work at addressing these complex and systemic challenges, which is why we encourage them to evaluate how a worker-driven model could make their supply chain more resilient and rights-respecting. We believe this evaluation will point them to its benefits and lead them to join the Fair Food Program.”
Kroger has developed corporate social responsibility (CSR) systems, partnerships, and voluntary responsible sourcing initiatives, but voluntary CSR programs and social audits often fail to address persistent human rights challenges and environments where abusive conditions are systemic, as is the case in agricultural supply chains. In contrast, WSR programs, like the Fair Food Program, are led by workers and include legally binding agreements coupled with independent monitoring, complaint resolution mechanisms that are accessible to vulnerable workers, and effective, market-based enforcement. In practice, this makes WSR far more responsive to emerging risks than traditional CSR programs and more effective at preventing and responding to abuses when they do occur.
WSR was pioneered in 2011 by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a Florida-based human rights group, with the launch of the Fair Food Program (FFP). In response to systemic abuses occurring in tomato fields—including sexual harassment, physical and verbal abuse, wage theft, and forced labor—workers organized to develop the FFP, which establishes a clear set of expectations and guidelines for companies to follow. For several years, after visiting Immokalee to see the program in action, Domini has advocated for the FFP and other WSR programs through its engagements with companies. The FFP currently protects tens of thousands of farmworkers harvesting dozens of crop types across 23 states and three countries, including Chile and South Africa, and is rapidly expanding in response to demand from supermarkets participating in the FFP, including Kroger peers Walmart, Whole Foods Market, GIANT, and Stop & Shop.
“With this resolution, Kroger shareholders have a unique opportunity to signal to its consumers that they take the threat of modern-day slavery seriously: that they will do what is needed to meet this threat head-on,” CIW co-founder Lucas Benitez said. “We look forward to the vote, and the eventual study assessing how WSR programs, like the Presidential Medal-winning Fair Food Program, can truly modernize Kroger’s agricultural supply chain.”
An analysis evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of Kroger’s existing voluntary programs compared with WSR programs would give shareholders confidence that Kroger is effectively managing its human rights responsibilities to mitigate legal, reputational, and human rights risks in its agricultural supply chain. Domini urges Kroger shareholders to vote “FOR” the proposal (item no. 5 on the proxy card).
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About Domini Impact Investments LLC
Domini Impact Investments LLC is a women-led SEC registered investment adviser that harnesses the power of finance to help create a better world. With an exclusive focus on impact investing, we aim to help drive positive outcomes for our planet and its people while seeking competitive financial returns. Our continuous innovation and caring, diverse community fuel tomorrow’s prosperity as we endeavor to make “investing for good” the way all investing is done.