At Domini, universal human dignity and ecological sustainability are our goals. Standards are the path we take to achieve them. Our social and environmental standards help us identify strong, long-term investments across both our equity and fixed-income strategies.
Two goals. One set of standards.
People and planet: Yes.
Weapons and firearms: No.
Sometimes it’s just as important to know what you don’t invest in as what you do. Again, our standards play a role here; as mentioned in step one, we exclude certain industries from investment. There are certain lines of business that we believe are fundamentally misaligned with our goals of universal human dignity and ecological sustainability.
These businesses do not meet Domini’s Impact Investment Standards and are not aligned with our goals of universal human dignity and ecological sustainability.
How do we determine whether a company is eligible for investment?
Step one: What is the business?
First, we evaluate companies to see if their core business model is aligned with our goals. Sometimes our assessment is straightforward because our exclusionary screens lead us to eliminate certain industries all together. Sorry, big tobacco. Hello, renewable energy. But usually, like the world, it’s complicated. That’s where our experience and expertise come in. We leverage our know-how to build you a portfolio of businesses that we believe on balance are addressing their key sustainability challenges. And we look to add companies that create solutions for environmental and social challenges and provide access to the underserved.
Step two: How does the business treat those it depends on?
We look at the company’s relations with its key stakeholders. How does it treat customers, employees, suppliers, investors, communities, and the natural world? No company is perfect, but we invest when we determine a company is making progress toward long-term benefits.
We believe that companies will succeed and prosper when they:
- Enrich the ecosystems on which they depend
- Contribute to the global community of humankind
- Contribute to their local and national communities
- Produce high-quality, safe, and useful products and services
- Invest in the wellbeing and development of their employees
- Strengthen the capabilities of their suppliers
- Are transparent with their investors
Impact investing is more than a trend.
It’s our tradition.
Our standards have allowed us to lead impact investing before impact investing led. When you uphold standards for decades, impact investing becomes more than a trend; it becomes a tradition. One that knows that the secret to making an impact is small. It’s one individual, believing. It’s one community, sharing. It’s one organization, listening. It’s one founder, creating. It’s one fund, caring. And it’s all of us, coming together with a care that’s mutual in funds that are too recognizing that, the power of small is the greatness of all.