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Honoured by the prestigious 2008 Lipper Fund Awards
The Desjardins Environment Fund is a Canadian equity fund with a portfolio made up of securities selected from the S&P/TSX Index. It is unique from other Funds in that it evaluates companies from both the environmental and financial points of view. This is what qualifies it as a socially responsible investment fund.
The Desjardins Environment Fund Philosophy
The Desjardins Environment Fund recognizes that all human and economic activities have an effect on the environment. That’s why it’s fully open to businesses from all sectors of activity, including those that pose a potential risk to the environment—natural resources, for example—based on the conviction that protecting the environment is of the utmost importance in these sectors. However, the Desjardins Environment Fund on principle excludes enterprises whose operations by their nature cause permanent damage to human beings and our surroundings: tobacco, arms and nuclear energy.
The Desjardins Environment Fund does not claim to be an equity fund made up exclusively of environment-related businesses.
The companies that become part of the Desjardins Environment Fund portfolio undergo two types of screening—positive and negative.
Positive screens are used to select enterprises that:
 | Comply with legislation and regulations
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| Voluntarily adhere to international standards
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| Make environmental commitments
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| Have environmentally responsible management processes, adapted to their sector
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| Have effective prevention measures that are understood by employees
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| Have adopted mechanisms for resolving environmental problems
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| Train their employees |
Negative screens are used to select enterprises that operate in the following industries:
| Tobacco
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| Arms
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| Nuclear energy |
By analyzing companies’ environmental management, the Desjardins Environment Fund helps them to make progress in their environmental practices.
For the Desjardins Environment Fund fact sheet, click here.
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