Our Company believes that sustainability, social responsibility and strong
corporate governance (collectively, “Corporate Responsibility”)
are key contributors to our success. Our approach to Corporate Responsibility
matters is all-inclusive, addressing our effect on the environment, our social
impact and our relationships with all of our stakeholders, including our
shareholders, tenants, employees and vendors.
Our commitment to the principles of sustainability starts at the top: our
Board oversees our sustainability program and initiatives, our management team
regularly reports to our Board on that program and our executive officers are
evaluated and compensated, in part, on the Company’s efforts with
respect to Corporate Responsibility initiatives. Our CEO directly oversees our
sustainability activities and performance, and our CEO and General Counsel,
along with senior members of our sustainability team, regularly update our
Board on sustainability initiatives.
We have a sustainability team focused on sustainability risks and initiatives,
whose team co-managers report directly to our CEO and General Counsel. This
team is co-managed by our Senior Vice President of Engineering, Construction
and Operations and our Senior Vice President – Legal. The team comprises
and leverages a variety of subject matter experts within the Company (e.g.,
human resources, engineering, information technology, leasing, legal, asset
management and finance) as well as a variety of third-party consultants.
The Company is a member of GRESB, a globally recognized independent
organization that provides validated Corporate Responsibility performance data
and peer benchmarks of more than 1,500 real estate portfolios worldwide. GRESB
is also aligned with many of the standards set forth in the Task Force on
Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”). Our annual GRESB
assessment rating improved by 8 points to achieve an overall score of 80 in
2023.
The following summary describes some of our Corporate Responsibility
principles and achievements in further detail. For a more thorough description
of the Company’s Corporate Responsibility initiatives and goals, please
see the link below for the Company’s 2023 Corporate Responsibility
Report. This report, which was published following the review and approval of
our Board of Trustees, includes a third-party assurance statement and
incorporates certain TCFD recommendations related to climate resilience
strategy, transition and physical climate risks and climate opportunities.
Our Corporate Responsibility initiatives and achievements include the
following:
Corporate Governance
We are committed to a corporate governance approach that promotes transparency as well as alignment with and accountability to our shareholders.
We regularly look to improve our corporate governance policies and practices, which include:
- Majority voting in uncontested trustee elections.
-
Annual trustee elections, with shareholder approval required to stagger the
Board.
- Lead independent trustee with robust duties.
- 6 of 7 trustees are independent.
- Regular executive sessions of independent trustees.
-
All members of Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee are independent.
-
All members of Audit Committee are financially literate with two of three
being audit committee financial experts under SEC rules.
- Annual board and committee review and self-evaluations.
-
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that covers trustees and employees as
well as the Company’s relationships with its vendors.
-
Meaningful share ownership guidelines for our trustees (4x annual cash
retainer), chief executive officer (6x salary) and other named executive
officers (3x salary).
-
Opted out of Maryland business combination and control share acquisition
statutes.
- No shareholder rights plan (commonly known as a “poison pill”).
- Active shareholder engagement.
-
Shareholders have ability to amend the Company’s bylaws by majority vote.
Our Board reviews our corporate governance practices and we strive to operate the Company on a foundation of strong corporate governance principles. For further information on our corporate governance structure and policies, please see
“Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Environmental
The Company’s sustainability approach seeks to actively manage
environmental impacts and climate-related risks and opportunities. Our
environmental and climate strategic planning and initiatives, combined with
our targeted capital investments, are aimed at reducing carbon emissions,
mitigating risks and potentially realizing climate-related opportunities that
benefit our stakeholders.
Our 2023 accomplishments with respect to environmental initiatives include the
following:
- created a stand-alone 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report, detailing the
Company’s sustainability goals, initiatives and achievements (see link
below);
- obtained an Independent Assurance Statement for Scope 2 greenhouse gas
(“GHG”) emissions and consumption data at our portfolio properties
for calendar year 2022. This assurance audit was performed to a limited level
of assurance and materiality based on the verifier’s professional
judgment, using the independent third party’s verification procedure and
ISAE 3000 for GHG emissions. A copy of the Independent Assurance Statement is
available in the Appendix below and attached to our 2023 Corporate
Responsibility Report (see links below);
- maintained LEED certification for 50% of our portfolio properties;
- completed a climate-related risk assessment, in line with certain
recommendations made by TCFD, with respect to our properties and corporate
headquarters; this assessment and other disclosures are available in our 2023
Corporate Responsibility Report (see link below);
- invested in energy efficiency projects by upgrading older, pneumatic
Variable Air Volume (“VAV”) boxes to direct digital control and
connecting them to existing Building Automation Systems as part of ongoing
tenant improvements at our portfolio properties; and
- enhanced our portfolio leases by incorporating additional energy
conservation, energy consumption data sharing and sustainability-related
clauses in new tenant leases as well as lease amendments with existing
tenants.
Social Responsibility
We believe in a shared commitment to diversity, ethics, integrity and
community engagement, which commitment serves as the foundation of our
corporate purpose. Diversity of all types brings varying perspectives,
encouraging differing viewpoints in order to effectively manage risk and
create value.
We have continued to focus our efforts in the areas of diversity and inclusion
(“D&I”), as well as employee health and wellness. Our Chair of
the Board, President and CEO David Helfand signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge in 2021 as a signal that we will put D&I into
action by creating a culture of involvement, respect and connection, where all
employees’ voices are heard. Our goal is to create and sustain an
inclusive environment where diversity thrives and employees want to work. Our
vision of diversity includes race, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical
ability and ethnicity, among others, and celebrating diversity is one of our
core values.
The Company acknowledges that improving D&I in our business will require a
long-term, sustained effort. Toward that end, we launched an online weekly
microlearning platform focused on diversity, inclusion and leadership
development, surveyed vendors regarding the diversity of their team members
and enhanced our parental leave policy to provide paid time off for primary
and secondary caregivers. We also conducted stakeholder engagement surveys for
both our employees and our portfolio tenants.
In our October 2022 employee survey, we had a 91% overall response rate, with
85% of the participants reporting they are “very happy” to be
working at EQC. Additionally, 85% praised EQC’s open and honest two-way
communication and 80% of the participants indicated that their perspective and
opinions are heard and valued. Overall, the survey provided meaningful
feedback and an opportunity to discuss and address employee concerns. These
surveys form an important part of our ongoing focus on engagement and overall
employee experience.
Our commitment to community brings active engagement, both as individuals and
in our corporate capacity. Over the years, we have been actively involved with
and supported local organizations and community outreach programs, including
the Greater Chicago Food Depository and other Chicago-based, grass-roots
organizations, by coordinating group events and encouraging employees to
dedicate time volunteering to make positive impacts in their communities.
Further details of community engagement are available in our 2023 Corporate
Responsibility Report (see link below).
We seek to maintain the highest standards of integrity and ethics. We have
implemented a set of rules that governs our conduct and can be found in our
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which covers our employees and trustees
and applies to the Company’s relationships with its vendors. This Code
remains a cornerstone in fostering a respectful and ethical work experience at
the Company, setting forth our anti-bribery policy, our standards with respect
to compliance with the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar
governance-related matters.
For further information on our Company’s efforts with respect to
Corporate Responsibility, please see the 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report
link below.
Appendix
2023 Corporate Responsibility Report
CY2022 Independent Assurance Statement