| Organisational Overview | ||||||
| Organisational Overview This section captures information that helps determine if some of the subsequent questions are required and also plays a role in benchmarking. Please make sure you provide accurate answers. This is also one of the more challenging sections as it may require gathering information from multiple sources. We suggest you collect all this information before progressing to other parts of the questionnaire. | ||||||
| 1. What were your organisation's total assets under management as of the most recent count (in millions)? (Estimating to the nearest hundred million as of December 31 2008 would be preferable - although the most recent available count would be sufficient. If your currency is not listed, please select 'other' and indicate your currency or convert to United States dollars.) | 823.467 | |||||
| Please select currency | United States dollar (USD) | |||||
| 1a. If 'Other' was selected, please specify the other currency here | No Answer | |||||
2. Please pick the one category and level of complexity that best describes your organisation (if your organisation is a pension fund, please also select your pension type). This information may be used to provide you with the best possible benchmarking. Complexity
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| Socially responsible investment manager | Simple | |||||
| 2a. If 'Other' was selected, please specify the other category here | No answer | |||||
| 3. Please provide an approximation of your average asset mix for 2008 or your asset mix as of the most recent count (in percent):(+/- 5% is sufficient. The sum of all the fields must be 100%) | ||||||
Active | Passive | Active | Passive | |||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | 83 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Private equity | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Listed real estate or property | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Non-listed real estate or property | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Hedge funds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Commodities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Infrastructure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Cash | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Governance, Policy and Strategy | ||||||
| Governance, Policy and StrategyQuestions 5 through 15 are about the governance and oversight of your organisation's responsible investment activities and the associated policies and strategy. This section will be scored separately from the six Principles."Policy" in this section may refer to one overall RI policy or multiple policies that address various elements of RI. | ||||||
| 5. Do you have a policy that makes specific reference to responsible investment (RI) or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues? | Yes | |||||
| 6. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, which of the following Principles does it address?(Please check all that apply.) | Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.,Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.,Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.,Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.,Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | |||||
| 7. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, which of the following asset classes does it apply to?(Please check all that apply.) | Listed equity (developed markets),Listed equity (emerging markets),Fixed income (not including corporate issuers),Fixed income (corporate issuers),Cash (not included in scoring) | |||||
| 8. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, when was your policy last reviewed? | Within the last 3 years | |||||
| 9. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, has it been disclosed publicly?(If answering yes, please indicate how this statement can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering no, please explain why not.) | Yes: '"http://www.domini.com/GlobInvStd/index.htm See also our Funds' prospectus, available at http://www.domini.com/Prospectus/index.htm, our Proxy Voting Guidelines and our approach to Engagement, available at http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/index.htm."' | |||||
10. To what extent has your approach to responsible investment been translated into a plan of action as reflected in business planning, strategic planning, or similar internal management processes?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 11. Who within your organisation has responsibilities related to RI implementation?(Please check all that apply.) | Board of trustees or board of directors,Chief Executive Officer or Chief Investment Officer or equivalent,Other senior management,RI or ESG specialist | |||||
| 12. Do you have a policy or approach/process that requires screening out or excluding stocks or sectors from your investment universe? | Both stocks and sectors | |||||
| 13. What are your reasons for screening out or excluding stocks or sectors from your investment universe?(Please check all that apply.) | We (and/or our clients) wish to avoid supporting the companies/sectors in question based on ethical considerations and we regard buying/holding their stock as providing such support,We believe that it is possible to exclude companies/sectors which will prove to be long term chronic underperformers in terms of their ability to maintain and grow earnings i.e. our exclusion is based on a high level integration,We believe that exclusion is a way in which we can influence the behaviour of companies (i.e. an element of our approach to engagement),We believe that certain companies/sectors are vulnerable to negative publicity surrounding the nature of their business and that this may have an adverse effect on share price performance (i.e. our screening is based on controlling investment risk),Other (please specify): 'Certain business models are fundamentally misaligned with our objectives as investors, as described in our Global Investment Standards.' | |||||
| 14. Please describe how your organisation assesses if there is a link between your RI activities and the performance (risk and return) of your investments: | EQUITY: Our submanager manages against an Optimized Custom Benchmark ( OCB ) based on each Fund's public benchmark. The OCB includes those stocks that are approved for investment by Domini, according to its ESG analysis. This universe is then optimized versus the public benchmark to create an OCB. The OCB was created to mitigate the impact of the social and environmental factors on sector weightings and tracking risk with the public benchmarks. Domini and the submanager track the performance of the OCB vs. the public benchmark, which allows us to determine the relative performance of Domini's approved universe, before the submanager's financial analysis is applied. FIXED INCOME: Domini receives quarterly attribution analysis from the submanager, which allows us to determine the relative impact of our policies. | |||||
| 15. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Governance, Policy, and Strategy here. | Domini Social Investments is 100% dedicated to socially responsible investing. All of our investments are subject to our comprehensive social and environmental guidelines, per the Funds' prospectus. A Standards Committee, made up of Domini's CEO, CIO and President has oversight of interpretation of the Global Investment Standards. Domini is an LLC and does not have a board. The Domini Funds are represented by a board of trustees with oversight of our compliance with the Funds' prospectus, which includes reference to our RI/ESG standards. The Board receives quarterly reports on the implementation of Domini's ESG standards, engagement and proxy voting. Our Chief Compliance Officer has responsibility for ensuring compliance with our ESG standards. All funds are managed by Domini and submanaged by third-party firms. We entered all assets as "internally" managed because Domini serves as Manager and submanagers must comply with Domini's standards. | |||||
| Principle 1 | ||||||
Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.For the purposes of this questionnaire, integration is the consideration of ESG issues alongside traditional financial measures, based on the belief that ESG issues can affect the performance (risk and/or return) of investment portfolios (to varying degrees across companies, sectors, regions, asset classes and through time). Please note that the view that ESG issues can influence investment returns may be based either on
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| 16. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle.This question and similar questions relating to each of the other Principles are being asked for three reasons. The first reason is to gather details regarding signatory implementation for inclusion in the PRI annual report on progress. The second reason is to capture activities not captured directly by questions in the Reporting and Assessment Tool. The third reason is to provide context and details to support verification calls. | All of Domini's investments are subject to our Global Investment Standards. Two fundamental principles underlie these standards: the promotion of a society that values human dignity and the enrichment of our natural environment. Our investment process is split between Domini Social Investments LLC and Wellington Management Company (submanager for equity funds) and Seix Advisors (submanager for fixed equity). Domini provides an approved universe of issuers that meet our standards to our submanagers, who construct the portfolios. See more details below (Q. 26) and at www.domini.com. | |||||
| Integration of ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes of internally managed assets | ||||||
| 17. For what percentage of your internal assets under active management do you integrate RI/ESG issues into your internal investment decision-making processes (in percent)?(+/- 5% is sufficient.) | ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | 100 | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | 100 | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | 100 | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | 100 | |||||
18. To what extent have you integrated RI/ESG issues into your internal active investment decision-making processes?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | To a large extent | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | To a large extent | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | To a large extent | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | To a large extent | |||||
19. When forming investment views, to what extent does your organisation gather and analyse ESG information, including, where applicable, information obtained from engagement activities?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| To a large extent | |||||
20. To what extent do portfolio managers or others making investment decisions in your organisation apply the ESG information and analysis available to them when constructing and managing portfolios?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| To a large extent | |||||
21. To what extent do you have a process for improving the effectiveness of research and portfolio management processes with regards to ESG factors?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| To a large extent | |||||
22. To what extent do you have a process for assessing and improving internal investment staff competency to incorporate RI/ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| To a large extent | |||||
| Integration of ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes of externally managed assets | ||||||
| 23. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q3 regarding the use of active external investment management. For what percentage of your external assets under management are RI/ESG issues integrated into the investment decision-making processes of your external investment managers (in percent, +/- 5% is sufficient)? | ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | ||||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | ||||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | ||||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | ||||||
| Private equity | ||||||
| Listed real estate or property | ||||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | ||||||
| Hedge funds | ||||||
| Infrastructure | ||||||
24. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q3 regarding the use of active external investment management. To what extent have RI/ESG issues been integrated into the investment decision-making processes of your external investment managers?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q23.)
| ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | No Answer | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | No Answer | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | No Answer | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | No Answer | |||||
| Private equity | No Answer | |||||
| Listed real estate or property | No Answer | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | No Answer | |||||
| Hedge funds | No Answer | |||||
| Infrastructure | No Answer | |||||
25. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q3 regarding the use of active external investment management. To what extent do you consider the capabilities of external investment managers to incorporate RI/ESG issues when searching for, selecting and retaining your external investment managers?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q23.)
| No Answer | |||||
| Integration - final comments | ||||||
| 26. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 1 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 1 that have not been captured by the questions above. | 16: We consider each company's alignment with our Global Investment Standards along two axes core business model and stakeholder relations. A solar cell manufacturer would be fundamentally aligned with our standards and a tobacco manufacturer would be fundamentally misaligned. From misalignment to alignment, Domini sets corresponding thresholds to evaluate each firm's relationships with key stakeholders. A fundamentally aligned company will have a lower stakeholder relations threshold than a partially misaligned company. This grounds ratings in each company's core business model, taking into account its key sustainability challenges. The Domini Social Bond Fund focuses on community economic development, seeking to support affordable housing, small business development, rural development, education, the environment, and healthcare. 20: Our submanagers do not utilize our ESG analysis in portfolio construction. However, they may only purchase securities we have approved. | |||||
| Principle 2 | ||||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | ||||||
| 27. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | Domini's corporate engagement activities focus on issues that are of particular concern to our Funds' shareholders, as well as those that we believe are particularly relevant to the industries we invest in. We engage corporations through letter-writing, telephone and in-person meetings and dialogues, and the filing of shareholder resolutions to be considered at companies' annual meetings. From 1994 through 2006 we filed more than 200 shareholder resolutions with close to 100 corporations and engaged in dozens of long-term dialogues. We provide in-depth quarterly reports to our Funds' Board of Trustees on these activities, as well as quarterly Social Impact Updates that we publish on our website. A complete history of all shareholder resolutions filed by Domini is available at http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/History-of/index.htm. We were the first US mutual fund manager to publicly disclose its proxy votes and lobbied the SEC for the rule that now requires all funds to do so. | |||||
| (Proxy) voting - applies only to listed equity (developed markets), listed equity (emerging markets) and listed real estate or property. | ||||||
| 28. Do you have a (proxy) voting policy?(If 'Yes - disclosed publicly', please indicate how your (proxy) voting policy can be obtained- a URL would be sufficient. If answering no, please explain why not.) | Yes - disclosed publicly: 'http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/Proxy-Voting/index.htm' | |||||
| 29. Does your (proxy) voting policy address environmental, social, and governance issues? | ||||||
| Environmental | Yes | |||||
| Social | Yes | |||||
| Governance | Yes | |||||
| 30. Who decided how to vote on ballot items on behalf of your organisation in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | Internal voting or governance group,External proxy voting service,Other (please specify): 'We use a proxy voting service to vote in accordance with our policies subject to override by Domini personnel.' | |||||
31. To what extent is information related to ballot items gathered and analysed before voting decisions are made?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 32. Do you ensure that voting is done in accordance with your voting instructions? | Yes for all | |||||
| 33. Do you inform companies of your rationale when you abstain or vote against management recommendations? | Yes for some | |||||
| 34. Please indicate how many resolutions you could have voted on and how many resolutions you did vote on in 2008:(include abstentions as votes where votes against are not possible, use the last available one year period if information for 2008 is not available or too difficult to gather, approximate numbers are acceptable. If you are unable to provide the exact number please provide an approximation of the percentage by entering 10 in the 'Resolutions could have voted on' column and your estimate in the 'Resolutions voted on' column. So if you voted on about 70% of the possible resolutions you would enter 7 in the 'Resolutions voted on' column. If you are not sure, please enter a 1 in all four fields.) | ||||||
| Domestic | 10 | 1 | ||||
| Foreign | 10 | 9 | ||||
| 35. For the listed equities that you manage, do you provide (proxy) voting services for your clients if they request them? | Yes - According to our own policy | |||||
| 36. How does your securities lending program address voting? | We do not have a securities lending program | |||||
| 37. How many shareholder resolutions related to ESG issues did you file or co-file during 2008? | ||||||
| As lead filer | 7 | |||||
| As co-filer | 7 | |||||
| Planning to be lead filer in 2009 | 7 | |||||
| Planning to be co-filer in 2009 | 7 | |||||
| 38. Please explain why you did or did not file or co-file any shareholder resolutions related to RI/ESG issues during 2008: | No Answer | |||||
| Engagement - general | ||||||
| 39. Who engaged with companies to seek ESG improvements in 2008?Please rank who engaged with companies according to their importance within your overall active ownership activities. You can only select Most, Second, Third and Fourth most important once each. Only the method you rank as 'Most important' will be scored for benchmarking purposes. If you wish to request that your other methods of engagement also be scored, please complete all the relevant sections and email the PRI at assessment@unpri.org when you submit your response. | ||||||
| Internal staff | Most important | |||||
| External investment manager(s) | Did not engage with companies in 2008 | |||||
| External engagement service provider(s) | Did not engage with companies in 2008 | |||||
| No Answer | |||||
| 40. Do you have a written engagement policy or other documents that direct engagement?(If 'Yes - disclosed publicly', please indicate how your policy can be obtained- a URL would be sufficient.) | Yes - disclosed publicly: 'http://www.domini.com/Prospectus/index.htm, http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/index.htm, Voting Guidelines: http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/Proxy-Voting/index.htm and fund marketing materials.' | |||||
| 41. If you have an engagement policy or other documents that direct engagement, what do they include?(Please check all that apply.) | General high level policy to support direction of agents to engage with companies,Indication of what markets it applies to,Expectations of companies with regards to environmental issues,Expectations of companies with regards to social issues,Expectations of companies with regards to governance issues | |||||
| 42. How many companies are you invested in? | 425 | |||||
| Engagement - internal staff | ||||||
43. To what extent do you have a process for identifying and prioritising ESG related engagement opportunities?
| To a large extent | |||||
44. How many portfolio companies did you engage with on ESG issues in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | 30 | |||||
| Moderate engagement | 113 | |||||
| Basic engagement | 133 | |||||
| 45. What proportion of your engagements addressed environmental, social or governance issues (in percent)?(One engagement may address more than one issue, so the three percentages need not add to 100%. For example, if you only had one engagement and it addressed environmental and governance issues then the answer would be 100% for environmental and 100% for governance.) | ||||||
| Environmental | 39 | |||||
| Social | 37 | |||||
| Governance | 25 | |||||
46. To what extent do you set ESG engagement objectives and attempt to evaluate your engagement success?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 47. What percentage of engagements that ended in 2008 were deemed successful (in percent)?(Engagement success: a considerable part of objectives or milestones that were set when the engagement commenced were achieved.) | 100 | |||||
48. To what extent do you have a process for assessing and improving staff competency to act as active owners and incorporate ESG issues into ownership practices?
| To a moderate extent | |||||
| Engagement - external engagement service provider(s) | ||||||
49. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. How many portfolio companies did your external engagement service provider(s) engage with on ESG issues on your behalf in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | ||||||
| Moderate engagement | ||||||
| Basic engagement | ||||||
| 50. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. What proportion of your external engagement service provider(s)'s engagements on your behalf addressed environmental, social or governance issues (in percent)?(One engagement may address more than one issue, so the three percentages need not add to 100%. For example, if you only had one engagement and it addressed environmental and governance issues then the answer would be 100% for environmental and 100% for governance.) | ||||||
| Environmental | ||||||
| Social | ||||||
| Governance | ||||||
51. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. To what extent do you contribute to and assess the ESG engagement activities of your external engagement service provider(s)?
| No Answer | |||||
| Engagement - external investment manager(s) | ||||||
52. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. How many portfolio companies did your external investment manager(s)'s engage with on ESG issues on your behalf in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | ||||||
| Moderate engagement | ||||||
| Basic engagement | ||||||
| 53. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. What proportion of your external investment manager(s)'s engagements on your behalf addressed environmental, social or governance issues (in percent)? (One engagement may address more than one issue, so the three percentages need not add to 100%. For example, if you only had one engagement and it addressed environmental and governance issues then the answer would be 100% for environmental and 100% for governance.) | ||||||
| Environmental | ||||||
| Social | ||||||
| Governance | ||||||
54. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. To what extent do you contribute to and assess the ESG engagement activities of your external investment manager(s)?
| No Answer | |||||
| 55. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. Did you consider the capabilities of external investment managers to engage with companies on ESG issues on your behalf when searching for, selecting and retaining your investment managers? | No Answer | |||||
| Engagement - final comments | ||||||
| 56. What ESG issues were addressed in your or your service providers' engagement initiatives? (Please check all that apply.) | Activities in conflict zones,Climate change,Distribution of fair trade products,Environment,Governance,Health and safety,Human rights,Labour issues,Nanotechnology / novel technology,Other (please specify): 'Predatory credit card practices, Political contributions, forestry, sust. rptg.' | |||||
| 57. What measures do you or your external service provider(s) use to assess the impact and success of engagement? | Governance practices changed,(Written) commitment to improve a particular ESG issue,Improved disclosure,Collaborative work with a company on a specific ESG issue,Shareholder resolutions withdrawn after successful negotiations with portfolio companies, Satisfactory votes in favor of our resolution. | |||||
| 58. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 2 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 2 that have not been captured by the questions above. | Q34: Our intention is to vote all proxies. Some are not cast due to shareblocking, late ballot receipt, rejection by subcustodian, user error. These represent very small percentages. Q42: As of 12/31. Q44: Categories do not match our work. Our interpretation: Extensive: Includes lead filer, or active cofiler. May not have had meetings. Moderate: Includes cofiler, not as involved. Interactions can include letters. We participated in or initiated several large letter writing campaigns listed under "basic" with one under "moderate" due to extensive involvement (Uzbek cotton). Did not attempt to eliminate duplicate companies from these campaigns. Engagements with non-portfolio cos. excluded. Removed letter writing to 293 CDP non-responders because form rejected a number > Q.42. 45: Letter campaigns counted as 1 campaign. Sust. Rpg and political contributions categorized as "governance." 47: Success is often incremental and dialogues can continue for years. Few formally "ended" in '08. | |||||
| Principle 3 | ||||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | ||||||
| 59. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | Disclosure is a critical accountability mechanism. Appropriate ESG disclosure is an element of our investment standards, as well as a core objective of our engagement work. We endorse mandatory ESG disclosure, and have made this a key focus of our public policy work. | |||||
| 60. Who asked investee companies (or other investment entities) to provide information about their ESG policies, practices or performance in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | Internal staff,Internal staff collaboratively with other investors | |||||
61. To what extent did you or your external engagement service provider(s) or your external investment manager(s) have a dialogue with investee companies (or other investment entities) regarding the production of standardized reporting about their ESG policies, practices or performance in 2008?('Standardized' could also include systematic reporting in areas where standardized reporting has not yet emerged.)
| ||||||
| Listed equity (developed market) | To a large extent | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | To a moderate extent | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | Not at all | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | Not at all | |||||
| 62. What formats of reporting on ESG issue policies, practices or performance have been requested? Please check all that apply. | Integrated with regular financial reports,Standalone corporate social responsibility or sustainability reporting,Global Reporting Initiative (GRI),Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP),Other (please specify): 'Targeted reports on forestry, human rights, political contributions, etc.' | |||||
63. To what extent did you or your external engagement service provider(s) or your external investment manager(s) seek information from companies regarding their practices related to norms, standards, codes of conduct or international initiatives related to ESG issues in 2008?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 64. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 3 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 3 that have not been captured by the questions above. | Engagement highlights during 2008: * Convinced American Express to begin political contributions reporting. * Provided Disney extensive comments on draft of its first Sustainability report. * Helped draft letter to more than 100 companies globally on behalf of investor coalition seeking information on cotton sourcing from Uzbekistan. * Wrote to 293 companies in North America, Europe, and Asia seeking responses to the Carbon Disclosure Project's annual survey and several agreed to complete the survey. * Wrote to 25 companies in North America, Europe and Asia that appeared on the Political Economy Research Institute Toxics 100 Index * Sent letter to SEC seeking mandatory ESG disclosure, including Domini-authored report on related developments in other countries. *Reached agreement with several companies on sustainability and sustainable forestry reporting. | |||||
| Principle 4 | ||||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | ||||||
| 65. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | Domini has been a strong and consistent advocate for the substance of the PRI principles for many years. We are seeking to reform finance in furtherance of a more just and sustainable economic system. | |||||
| 66. Did you consider RI/ESG requirements when searching for and selecting service providers in 2008 when applicable? | ||||||
| Investment consultant | Not applicable | |||||
| Proxy voting service provider | Not applicable | |||||
| External overlay service provider | Not applicable | |||||
| Investment research provider | Not applicable | |||||
| 67. Have you included RI/ESG elements in the following? | ||||||
| Investment monitoring | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| Incentive structure (internally managed) | No | |||||
| Incentive structure (externally managed) | Not applicable | |||||
| Contractual relationships with external investment managers | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| Contractual relationships with other investment related service providers | Yes, some of the time | |||||
68. To what extent did you encourage your eligible service providers to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?(Service providers include but are not limited to: external investment managers, investment consultants, proxy voting service providers, external engagement service providers, and investment research providers.)
| To a small extent | |||||
69. To what extent did you encourage your institutional clients to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?
| To a large extent | |||||
70. To what extent did you encourage peer organisations to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 71. Have you revisited any relationships with service providers in light of RI/ESG issue-related capabilities? | Planning to in 2009 | |||||
| 72. Does your broker evaluation process (which determines how you allocate commissions to brokers) include an ESG component and/or do you have a budget to pay for ESG broker research? | Not applicable | |||||
| 73A. What is your total investment research budget (including brokerage commissions intended to recognize research, in the same currency used in Q1) | 165000 | |||||
| 73B. what proportion of your total investment research budget is allocated to ESG research (in percent)? | 100 | |||||
74. To what extent do you identify ESG issues and suggest them to brokers or other investment research providers for research?
| To a large extent | |||||
75. To what extent did you engage in dialogue, lobbying or initiatives pertaining to government policy and/or industry regulations (for example, stock exchanges or accounting standards) related to RI/ESG issues in 2008?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 76. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 4 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 4 that have not been captured by the questions above. | As noted above, we are an advocate for RI, but have not systematically promoted the PRI as such. 67: All Fund contracts with submanagers require compliance with prospectus, which includes ESG factors. Bonuses relate to individual performance and firm profitability. 68: We periodically lobby our proxy voting provider to support our shareholder proposals on ESG issues. 69: All marketing and institutional sales are focused on RI. We therefore entered "to a large extent." 70: We are active and vocal advocates for RI. For example, in 2008, we have published or had acccepted for publication, several articles on RI issues and our CEO writes a monthly column on RI. 75: We have a seat on SIF's public policy committee and drafted or signed on to various letters to legislators or regulators relating to RI or ESG issues, including mandatory social and environmental disclosure, climate change, fiduciary duty and the shareholder resolution process. | |||||
| Principle 5 | ||||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | ||||||
| 77. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | Domini has always taken a collaborative approach to responsible investment. We actively participate in numerous investor organizations, such as ICCR and CERES, that pursue RI objectives and our engagement activities are highly collaborative. Our CIO helped to found the Institute for Responsible Investment, housed at Boston College's Center for Corporate Citizenship, to provide a forum for discussion and collaborative work on RI issues. | |||||
78. To what extent did you collaborate with other investors to improve your effectiveness in implementing each of the following Principles?
| ||||||
| Principle 1 | To a large extent | |||||
| Principle 2 | To a large extent | |||||
| Principle 3 | To a large extent | |||||
| Principle 4 | To a moderate extent | |||||
| 79. How did you use the PRI Engagement Clearinghouse in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | Logged in during 2008 to use the Clearinghouse as a learning tool or to keep up to date on ongoing engagements,Joined a collaborative engagement led by another signatory that was posted to the Clearinghouse | |||||
| 80. Did you participate in any of the following RI/ESG issue-related collaborations and/or associations? For those not listed, please use the "other" field:(Please check all that apply.) | Carbon Disclosure Project,Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR),Regional social investment organisation (for example SIF or UKSIF),Social Investment Research Analyst (SIRAN),United Nations Environmental Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI),Other (please specify): 'Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility',Other (please specify): 'Canadian Boreal Initiative',Other (please specify): 'Ceres',Other (please specify): 'Investor Environmental Health Network',Other (please specify): 'Global Network Initiative' | |||||
81. Please indicate the three RI/ESG issue-related collaborative engagement initiatives and/or industry associations that you participated in most extensively and indicate how you did so:
| ||||||
| 5th Other specify from Q80 | To a large extent | Helped to launch GNI to address government censorship and surveillance of Internet. More info at: http://www.domini.com/about-domini/News/index.htm#October_28_2008 | ||||
| 1st Other specify from Q80 | To a large extent | As co-chair of the Contract Supplier Working Group, helped formulate and lead ICCR's human rights work. | ||||
| 4th Other specify from Q80 | To a large extent | Serve on IEHN steering committee; active in formulating strategy and engagement with companies on toxins and environmental health. | ||||
| 82. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 5 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 5 that have not been captured by the questions above. | Domini is also an active participant in the Center for Political Accountability (http://www.politicalaccountability.net)the coordinating body for a shareholder coalition seeking disclosure and board oversight of corporate political spending in the U.S. | |||||
| Principle 6 | ||||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | ||||||
| 83. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | Domini has more than a decade-long committment to public reporting on our investment standards, proxy voting and engagement activities. We were the first mutual fund manager in the U.S. to publicly disclose its proxy votes, and we lobbied the SEC for the rule that now requires all U.S. mutual funds to do so. We provide quarterly reporting on our website and to our Funds' Board of Trustees on engagement activities and provide the Board with additional detail on proxy voting and the application of our investment standards each quarter. | |||||
84. To what extent did you disclose (privately and/or publicly) your approach to incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes in 2008?(If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.)
| To a large extent: 'http://www.domini.com/GlobInvStd/index.htm See also our Funds' prospectus, available at http://www.domini.com/Prospectus/index.htm. Addtl. detail provided in sales presentations and to Board of Trustees.' | |||||
| 85. How did you disclose your (proxy) voting record in 2008?(Please select all that apply. If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.) | Disclosed to clients or beneficiaries,Disclosed publicly: 'http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/Proxy-Voting/index.htm',All votes,Disclosed continuously (primarily before meetings) | |||||
86. To what extent did you disclose (privately and/or publicly) your RI/ESG issue-related engagement activities, results and progress in 2008?(If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.)
| To a large extent: 'http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/index.htm. More detailed information provided quarterly to Board of Trustees and in presentations.' | |||||
| 87. Did you disclose (privately and/or publicly) RI/ESG activities, results and progress related to Principle 3, Principle 4 or Principle 5 in 2008?(If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.) | ||||||
| Principle 3 | Yes - to clients or beneficiaries and the public | http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/index.htm. More detailed information provided quarterly to Board of Trustees and in presentations. | ||||
| Principle 4 | Yes - to clients or beneficiaries and the public | We are public advocates for RI in published articles and speeches. | ||||
| Principle 5 | Yes - to clients or beneficiaries and the public | Collaborative engagements are discussed on our website. | ||||
| 88. How would you like to publish your responses to this PRI Reporting and Assessment tool?(Please check all that apply.) | Please automatically publish our responses to the reporting and assessment tool in full on the PRI website | |||||
| 89. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 6 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 6 that have not been captured by the questions above. | For information on our Global Investment Standards, visit http://www.domini.com/GlobInvStd/index.htm. For information on our engagement work, visit http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/index.htm. For more history of Domini, visit http://www.domini.com/about-domini/The-Domini-Story/Milestones/index.htm. For independent evaluations of our proxy voting: www.fundvotes.com and www.proxydemocracy.org | |||||
| Closing Comments | ||||||
| 90. Please describe the benefits you have enjoyed as a result of signing the PRI: | The PRI has helped to expand our global reach, bringing us in closer contact with non-US investment firms. | |||||
| 91. What has your organisation changed as a direct result of becoming a PRI signatory? | Our engagement activities have become more internationally collaborative. | |||||
| 92. Did the financial market turmoil of 2008 cause you to change your approach to the consideration of ESG factors or active ownership? If it did, please explain how. | No, but it has imposed resource constraints. | |||||
| 93. What are the top three activities the PRI Secretariat could undertake to enhance and encourage further implementation of the PRI by current and prospective signatories? | ||||||
| 1. | Survey practitioners on their approach to ESG integration, as opposed to defining the term and then assessing compliance. PRI could help foster a healthy debate on different approaches. | |||||
| 2. | Help to develop approaches to measure the social and environmental impact of Responsible Investment activities. | |||||
| 3. | Provide a member contact directory. | |||||
| 94. What are your top three PRI-related goals/priorities for 2009? | ||||||
| 1. | In 2009, we began a PRI campaign on the Employee Free Choice Act and related issues, in collaboration with As You Sow Foundation, Boston Common Asset Management, SEIU, Trillium Asset Management. | |||||
| 2. | Reach out to PRI members in support of regulatory reform proposals in the US, focusing on mandatory ESG disclosure. | |||||
| 3. | Considering an initiative on stock exchange listing standards and ESG disclosure. | |||||
| 95. What were your most significant achievements in 2008 in relation to your implementation of Principles? | ||||||
| Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes. | * CIO Steve Lydenberg, as Founding Director of the Institute for Responsible Investment, worked on projects relating to responsible real estate investing and a user-manual "How to Read a CSR Report" (pending). | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | *CEO and General Counsel both named to Directorship 100, a list of the most influential people in governance and boardroom: http://www.domini.com/about-domini/News/Press-Release-Archive/Domini-Official-Most-Influential-200.doc_cvt.htm | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | * Convinced American Express to begin annual public reporting of its political contributions. Reached agreement with several other companies on public reporting of ESG performance. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | *Testified before Congressional Human Rights Caucus on what investors can do to address genocide: http://www.domini.com/about-domini/News/Press-Release-Archive/Human-Rights-Caucus-on-Darfur-200809.doc_cvt.htm *Wrote to SEC and worked with SRIs and NGOs to seek mandatory ESG disclosure in US. Published paper on ESG disclosure developments outside US: http://www.domini.com/about-domini/News/Press-Release-Archive/Innovations-in-Disclosure-20081215.doc_cvt.htm | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | *Helped launch Global Network Initiative to address Internet censorship and surveillance in collaboration with SRI firms, NGOs, academics, companies. *Helped launch collaborative effort to address child labor in Uzbekistan, including NGOs, SRIs, companies and the US government. See http://www.domini.com/about-domini/News/Press-Release-Archive/UzbekCotton_200808151.doc_cvt.htm | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | *Issued final public report of Project Kaleidoscope, multi-year labor standards project with Disney, McDonald's, and small group of investors: http://www.domini.com/about-domini/News/Press-Release-Archive/Project-Kaleidoscope_Released_200804.doc_cvt.htm *Proxy voting reports and quarterly engagement reports available at http://www.domini.com/shareholder-advocacy/index.htm. | |||||
| 96. What were your biggest barriers in 2008 with relation to your implementation of the Principles? | ||||||
| Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes. | We continue to see a strong need for structures to finance niche research to help aggregate and interpret ESG data currently being disclosed in the US. For example, TRI data, HMDA data (Cannicor provides this service), EEO, etc. | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | Engagement with non-US companies continues to be challenging. | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | Voluntary ESG disclosure remains a barrier. We continue to press for mandatory disclosure. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | Lack of understanding of SRI and its goals by the investment industry, the media and the general public, remains a barrier, as do certain current, and misinformed, interpretations of fiduciary duty. | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | None. | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | None. | |||||
| 97. Please indicate which principle you find the most difficult to implement and the principle you find the least difficult to implement: | ||||||
| Most difficult | Principle 4 | |||||
| Least difficult | Principle 6 | |||||