Reporting Methodology

We constructed the 2020–2021 ESG Report with data collected from the 30 properties in our portfolio as of July 31, 2021. This report covers data between August 1, 2020 and July 31, 2021.

As with our 2019–20 report, we focused on the following core principles in designing this year’s report:

• Stakeholder Inclusivity • Materiality • Transparency & Completeness • Data Quality & Reliability Stakeholder Inclusivity: We included a broad spectrum of stakeholders in our ESG report development process, including team members, customers, vendors, community partners, investors, economists and third-party ESG and data evaluation experts. We engaged these participants in interviews, written evaluations and working group meetings. The ESG Leadership Committee, EQ Executive Leadership Team, Blackstone, YouthBuild USA and Compton YouthBuild all reviewed this report.

EQ team members collaborate at Playa District. Photo credit Chris Ozer.

Materiality: Following our initial materiality assessment in 2019, we aligned our quarterly audit survey questions to ensure consistency with Global ESG Benchmark for Real Assets (GRESB). We audited all properties quarterly on the full data set of questions.

Transparency & Completeness: We shared the results of each quarterly audit with all property teams and provided biweekly updates on progress toward our goals as well as advancement on ESG programs with the ESG Leadership Committee, EQ Executive Leadership Team and Blackstone. We created an ESG Dashboard to track progress to goals. The Dashboard is regularly accessible to these stakeholders, and we also provided highlights from it in our quarterly Board meetings. Our team has included all of these collected findings in the report.

Data Quality & Reliability: Our Governance Task Force created a matrix for all data in the report, externally verifying:

• Electricity (Schneider Electric & Energy Star) • Water (Schneider) • Waste (Building Waste Partners, Construction

Waste Manifests) • IAQ (Well HSR Data Collection) • In-Kind Donations (Partner Receipts) • Risk Assessment Review (Guidepost Partners) • Clean Power (Property Contracts) • D&I Vendors (Dun & Bradstreet Diversity Database,

Spot Check Requests for Certifications) • Thought Leadership (Publishers of Awards and Media Articles, Websites Listing Speaking

Engagements) • Job Creation (Revantage Payroll Reports,

Nonprofit Partner Reports, Choose Chicago,

Construction Vendors) • Donated Space (License Agreements) • Tenant Satisfaction (Third-Party Surveys) • Subsidized Wellness (Gym Memberships,

Fitness Classes Listings, Wellable) Where external verification was not possible, our team conducted internal verifications using EQ’s audited corporate financial records as well as data collection systems such as Blackbaud. These verifications were executed for:

• Recycling Events • Community Engagement Events • Professional Development Events • Community Health Events • Construction Projects • Local Materials • Risk Mitigation Measures • Environmental Capital Improvements • Technology Systems • Charitable Contributions • Art Investments

Where assumptions were required to arrive at a data point, these assumptions have been footnoted in the appropriate places throughout the report. We also offered details on the following reference pages.