2022 Sustainability and Social Impact Report

2022

Sustainability and Social Impact Report

EQ Office is Blackstone’s U.S. office portfolio company with best-in-class expertise across acquisitions, asset management, development/ redevelopment, leasing and property operations. EQ’s focus is to create and operate inspiring workplace destinations by offering solutions that blend the best of work, home and hospitality.

Our diverse team of approximately 200 professionals currently operates a portfolio of more than 22 million square feet for more than 1,500 customers across major U.S. markets such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.

CEO Letter

With this in mind, I am pleased to share the culmination of our efforts in EQ Office’s 2022 Sustainability and Social Impact Report. Over the next year, we’ll evolve our strategy rooted in the belief that this work concurrently benefits both our business and communities.

Impact initiatives in 2022 were designed to support our customers’ efforts to foster safe and inclusive work environments, offer community-building activities, help reduce environmental footprints and generate economic efficiencies.

We continued to reduce our energy footprint and explored opportunities to procure green energy systems, including authorizing the installation of solar panels on three properties. We diverted more than 5,000 tons of waste from landfills. We supported the creation of thousands of jobs through construction projects, workforce development, travel and tourism, as well as philanthropic initiatives. And the EQ team of 200 donated their time and resources, resulting in more than 2,000 volunteer hours. Additionally, we were thrilled to recently achieve the WELL Health-Safety rating for 34 of our buildings, which are part of 19 EQ properties, exemplifying our focus on the health and safety of our customers.

Underscoring our commitment, in 2023, we hired Samantha Sims, SVP of Sustainability and Social Impact, to drive our program forward. Sam joins us with nearly 20 years of experience building and managing sustainability programs across apparel, professional services and the music industry, and reports directly to me. Her deep experience outside of real estate will, we believe, give EQ a broader perspective on how to best differentiate our strategy and customer engagement.

Looking ahead, helping mitigate the built environment’s sizeable impact on global carbon emissions, clean water availability and waste management will be central to our efforts.

To align with our ownership’s decarbonization targets, we are updating our greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint measurement processes and establishing an EQ-specific GHG footprint reduction goal.

We will also refine our social impact strategy to focus our resources on issues currently facing the communities across our portfolio. Employee wellbeing and local economic development are among social impact areas that we’ll continue to emphasize. Additionally, cultivating a diverse and inclusive work environment will be essential to our overall EQ strategy. I firmly believe workplaces filled with more diverse perspectives lead to stronger performance.

Creating and managing workplace environments that are safe, sustainable, inclusive and inspiring for employees and our broader communities is more important than ever. This thinking will ground our strategy redevelopment along with an updated materiality assessment, which allows us to hear the perspectives of our key stakeholders — customers, investors, employees and business partners. We are excited about this next chapter and engaging our extended EQ community to leverage the real estate industry as a catalyst for good.

Alex Vouvalides

When I joined EQ more than a year ago, I was proud to discover our team’s enthusiasm and solid foundation in sustainability and social impact — two areas that are not only important to me, but critical to EQ’s long-term value creation.

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS 1st

(GHG) footprint calculated and released while improving early phase electricity data management processes.

sf 7m+

Obtained ENERGY STAR certifications and recertifications, representing 32% of portfolio sf.

53%

OF PROPERTIES

Implemented and maintained composting programs2.

OF EQ BUILDINGS 58%

Utilized green power, associated with more than 9m of EQ building sf 1.

14.4m+

Acquired or renewed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications for five properties, representing 31% of portfolio sf.

67%

OF TOTAL CONSTRUCTION WASTE

Diverted from landfill (2,819 tons), and 34% of total waste from EQ’s direct operations diverted from landfill (2,212 tons).

Associated with our partnership with Alveole, a company that supports local ecosystems through facilitating beekeeping.

INDIVIDUALS 100+

Received job training and mentorship through community collaborations.

HOURS 2k

Volunteered by EQ employees.

Launched the Youth Action YouthBuild Mentorship Program in collaboration with Youth Action YouthBuild in East Harlem, New York, to provide students with mentorship and job training in property management, engineering, security and more.

Of the many initiatives in 2022, we are incredibly proud of the following highlights:

Sustainability and Social Impact at EQ

About EQ’s Sustainability and Social Impact Report

This report was designed to transparently update key stakeholders — particularly our employees, customers, investors, vendors, business and nonprofit partners, as well as local governments — on our progress. Information and updates in this report reflect activity within our portfolio of 30 properties,3 consisting of 66 buildings, between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, unless otherwise noted.4 Our quarterly internal reporting also aligns with the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB).

As we move forward, we will continue to align sustainability and social impact initiatives with the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Key activities to embed sustainability and social impact into our culture include:

Integrating social, environmental and transparency considerations into our annual company-wide goals.

Establishing an internal sustainability and social impact Steering Committee with sub-committees focused on environmental sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) with key members from our operations, engineering and people and culture teams.

Expanding sustainability, social impact and governance policies and procedures.

Sharing new quarterly internal reporting on sustainability and social impact metrics among property teams and team leaders.

Setting initial goals.

We are building on this foundation to update our sustainability and social impact platform to increase focus on the most pressing issues our communities are facing and to align with our new leadership, as well as the current workplace and market dynamics.

Over the last few years, our employees have taken the initiative to incorporate environmental, social and governance issues most relevant to our teams, customers, investors and other business partners into the way we work. This has provided a strong platform we can build upon as we transform our Sustainability and Social Impact strategy.

2022 Goals

Vendor Sustainability Standards in Construction

Goal: Ensure 25% of vendors hired for construction projects in 2022 align with EQ’s Green Pre-Construction Checklist.

Local Cultural Materials in Construction

Waste Diversion in Construction

Goal: Divert 55% of waste in construction from going to landfill.

Composting Programs

Available

Goal: Procure local cultural materials in 25% of construction projects at the property level.

Goal: Provide composting programs in 50% of the properties in our portfolio.

The following goals were developed over the last few years to hold ourselves accountable for our sustainability and social impacts. Timelines for these goals vary between one and multi-year schedules based on the subject matter. We will update these goals as we update our short- and long-term planning for sustainability and social impact. Future goals will include decarbonization targets, as we’ve spent the last year ensuring we set the critical foundations to effectively measure our first greenhouse gas footprint (as reported and detailed on p.20) and establish ongoing data management processes.

Local Procurement in Construction

Water Consumption

Goal: Procure local materials in 33% of construction projects at the property level.

Waste Diversion in Direct Operations

Goal: Reduce water consumption by 6% in 2022, compared to our 2021 annual water footprint.

Engaging Our Customers and Communities5

Reporting and Transparency

• Establish new data tracking system.

• Enhance quarterly and annual reporting processes.

• Reached our goal of collecting data from 100% of properties through quarterly reporting.

Goal: Divert 35% of waste from direct operations from going to landfill.

Goal: Increase offering of events for customers and communities by 15% from 2021.

EQ considers “engaging our customers and communities” as reflecting activities in which we produce events, donate space or support other entities’ community-building events that are produced for customers and community members.

Introduction

Environmental Sustainability

Social

Governance

At EQ, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and supporting the development of a low-carbon economy through day-to-day operations and our ecosystem of business partners.

Our engineering and property management teams are central to sustainability initiatives, and work with our employee-led environmental committee to drive quantifiable changes from within EQ. Our customers, vendors and other business and community partners are also critical collaborators.

As part of EQ’s commitment to sustainability, we aim to lower our environmental impacts through vendor engagement by:

Examples of standards and core practices that ground this work include:

• Applying green lease6 clauses to new and renewal leases. Nearly 25% of leases in place in 2022 included sustainability-related clauses.7

• Evaluating natural resource reductions in daily building operations.

• Implementing EQ’s Green Pre-Construction Checklist.8

• Engaging suppliers and procuring materials that benefit local economic development and culture.

• Reusing or repurposing products and spaces whenever possible.

• Implementing recycling and composting.

• Installing energy-efficiency building upgrades.

• Creating a plan to reduce GHG emissions when a new asset is acquired.

• Collaborating with partners and customers to facilitate employee sustainability events, such as clothing and e-waste recycling drives, beach clean-ups and farmers markets.

6 Green leases are standard lease agreements that are characterized by having clauses and requirements related to sustainability and social impact (e.g. energy, water and waste management, metering, social initiatives, etc.).

7 In 2022, 7,598,862 square feet was covered by a green lease, which equates to 34% of EQ’s total portfolio in square feet.

8 EQ’s Green Pre-Construction Checklist includes the local sourcing of materials (within 500 miles of building), use of materials associated with lower emissions, use of energy-efficient materials in interiors, use of local cultural materials (i.e., site-specific historic elements), prioritization of lowering operating costs through environmental capital improvements and application of vendor waste diversion policies and tracking practices.

Incorporating values alignment into our pre-engagement reviews to evaluate a vendor’s ability to comply with EQ’s Green Construction Guidelines.

Our goal was to hire 25% of vendors in alignment with EQ’s Green Pre-Construction Checklist, and at 49%, we far exceeded that goal.

Prioritizing the use of local materials that avoid GHG emissions while also benefiting local economies.

Our goal was to use local cultural materials9 in at least 25% of construction projects. We nearly achieved this goal, with 24% of materials for 2022 construction projects qualifying as local cultural materials. Additionally, one goal was for 33% of construction projects to use local materials.10 We exceeded this goal, with 57% of construction projects in 2022 using materials from local sources.

9 EQ defines local cultural materials as native plants, art, décor, unique building accents or other materials from local landmarks from within 500 miles of building. 10 EQ considers local materials to be from a vendor and/or supplier located within 500 miles of building.

Capital improvements across our portfolio in 2022 resulted in:

6.8m+

sf

LEED certifications at five properties, including Willis Tower in Chicago, and in Seattle, New York and Boston.

TOTAL PROPERTIES 11

LEED certified, representing approx. 55% of sf in our portfolio in 2022.

~1.3m

sf

Customer spaces were upgraded with LED lighting at Willis Tower in Chicago, representing 29% of the building’s sf.

7.5m+ sf

Energy-efficient HVAC upgrades.

PROPERTIES 12

With new drought-tolerant landscaping to reduce water consumption.

PROPERTIES 5

With new outdoor seating, enhancing tenant experience.

NEW ENERGY-EFFICIENT 27

Elevator cars in buildings in Chicago, New York and Washington DC, including Willis Tower.

Additionally, environmental risk assessments are conducted to enhance preparations for changing conditions, including measuring our risk and resilience levels related to natural disasters, hazardous materials and contamination. We further evaluate our ability to make property-level adjustments to increase energy and water efficiency, manage waste outputs, maintain indoor air-quality standards and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Case In Point: Willis Tower Feature

In 2022, EQ completed a major reposition of Willis Tower with environmental improvements front and center. This iconic staple of the Chicago skyline is the 12th tallest building in the world and the third tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and also celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023.

2022 environmental improvements at Willis Tower include:

• HVAC system updates: Technology updates to the HVAC system yield significant energy reduction annually, which build on energy savings from free cooling (a practice to employ natural air or water instead of refrigeration where possible).

• Energy-efficient LED lights: A complete upgrade to the lighting control system reduces costs while saving energy, a cost benefit to both our investors and customers. About 75% of Willis Tower’s lighting system is composed of energy-efficient LED lights — and we are working toward 100%.

• Adaptive reconditioning of public spaces: Tightened seals on doors and seal voids throughout the building to reduce energy consumption and indoor air loss from the lobby and retail areas.

• Renewable energy credits: As we’ve done for three years, we purchased renewable energy credits (RECs), which support a wind farm in Texas and are associated with 100% of EQcontrolled space in Willis Tower.

The building underwent HVAC upgrades and highefficiency equipment installations, which contributed to reducing energy consumption by 22% from a 2018 baseline year measurement. It has also become the largest building to receive the LEED Platinum designation in North America, among other sustainability improvements.

• Low-flow, high-efficiency water fixtures: Upgraded fixtures led to a 30% reduction in yearly water consumption (11 million gallons).

• Capital improvements for energy efficiency: Elevator modernizations and upgrades to the building’s cooling tower, fans, boilers, heat transfer technology and hydronic snow melt system resulted in improved energy efficiency and indoor air quality.

• New energy tracking processes and sensors: These enable more efficient, real-time energy consumption management based on occupancy.

“In 2022, we focused on how our equipment was performing by identifying energy-saving opportunities and future-proofing these systems to be most effective and adaptable. The improvements that we made inspire our building operators to do better every single day to improve the efficiency of the Tower, make an impact on our local communities and share their skills with the engineering community.”

Barbara Hickey

Energy Savings at Willis Tower

The following chart outlines the yearly reductions in energy consumption from the base year 2018. Energy reductions in 2020 and 2021 were largely because of low occupancy in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 reductions are attributed to the energy management upgrades, as occupancy levels that year are on par with 2018 and 2019.

Director of Operations and Construction

Willis Tower

Decarbonization

Real estate is responsible for nearly 40% of total global carbon emissions, so it is imperative we explore ways to decarbonize by procuring clean energy.11 According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an average of 30% of energy consumed in commercial buildings is wasted.12 We believe collaborating with our customers and business partners to reduce energy use and procure more clean power is the most effective avenue to contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy.

As we build our decarbonization plan, we are committed to transparently reporting our GHG emissions footprint and annual electricity use, as well as implementing new technologies where possible.

With this report, we are pleased to disclose our 2021 and 2022 GHG emissions footprint for Scopes 1, 2 and 3 Category 13 for the first time.13 14 These footprints will inform our decarbonization strategy, including identifying GHG reduction and renewable energy targets.

We will set energy and GHG emissions reduction goals informed by climate science and aligned with the host of new state and municipal laws driving energy efficiency and reduction. We also plan to emphasize specific reduction targets for newly acquired assets. We have started this process by measuring our footprint and will report more information in next year’s report.

In the interim, we have taken significant steps to set goals and reduce electricity consumption, which comprises the largest amount of our GHG footprint.

Additionally, GHG emissions and electricity intensity data for 2021 and 2022 reflect a slight increase in emissions and electricity use despite numerous energy reduction initiatives, such as activities at Willis Tower. These increases could be attributed to several factors, including employees spending more time in offices and improved data accuracy because of enhanced data collection and validation practices.

EQ Office Annual GHG Footprint15

11 Boland, B., Levy, C., Palter, R., & Stephens, D. (2022, February 4). Climate risk and the opportunity for real estate. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/%20real-estate/ our-insights/climate-risk-and-the-opportunity-for-real-estate

12 About the Commercial Buildings Integration Program. Energy.gov. (n.d.). https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/about-commercial-buildings-integration-program

13 Scope 1 emissions are direct GHG emissions that occur from sources that are owned or operated by EQ, e.g., emissions generated by EQ-owned or -operated boilers, furnaces, etc. Scope 2 accounts for the GHG emissions generated through EQ’s off-site energy procurement from “electricity that is purchased or otherwise brought into the organizational boundary of the company.” Scope 3 Category 13 refers to emissions generated from downstream leased assets, which originate from EQ’s customers depending on the lessee’s consolidation approach. World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development. (2004, March). The Greenhouse Gas Protocol. https://www.wri.org/initiatives/ greenhouse-gas-protocol

14 Scope 2 and Scope 3 Category 13 emissions are combined in our absolute and intensity emissions metrics to obtain a most complete representation of whole building data across our portfolio where portions of the building’s operational control are held by customers.

15 Our calculations of 2021 and 2022 greenhouse gas absolute and intensity emissions metrics align with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) guidance through the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM) platform, using inventories consistent with industry greenhouse gas accounting and reporting standards.

16 In alignment with ESPM’s standards and calculations, our measure of square footage used to calculate intensity is characterized by the gross floor area of each building, excluding parking and garage spaces.

17 Scope 2 emissions are calculated using a location-based allocation method for carbon accounting, which “reflects the average emissions intensity of grids on which energy consumption occurs (using mostly grid-average emission factor data).” World Resources Institute. (n.d.). GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance. Greenhouse Gas Protocol. https:// ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/Scope2_ExecSum_Final.pdf

kWh = kilowatt-hour, sf = square footage

Energy reduction and clean energy investments are implemented through a range of tactics, such as upgrading and installing high-efficiency equipment and appliances like Building Management Systems (BMS), HVAC systems, new LED lighting and solar panels. Use of the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager platform allows us to track, assess and benchmark our current and historic utility consumption for each building. Our operations team led day-to-day building management and capital improvement planning while ensuring ENERGY STAR compliance.

18 2021 electricity data is sourced from utility provider Schneider Electric, which contains data from electricity bills in EQ’s operational control. Whole building data was not completely available because of contractual and operational barriers to data access for customers’ electricity information.

19 This figure is calculated using whole building energy consumption information from ENERGY STAR for 27 out of the 30 properties represented in this report, excluding Griffin Towers, Playa District and Von Karman Creative Campus (VKCC).

In 2022, we improved our electricity data management processes to capture more electricity data from our properties in relation to 2021 collection efforts.18

We regularly evaluate opportunities to procure clean energy through on-site and offsite installations, as well as through utility providers. Highlights from 2022 include:

3

SOLAR INSTALLATIONS

Continued panel installation at three properties in California, which will reduce each building’s energy load by between 20% and 55% once complete in 2024. These three installations will generate approximately 6.2 million kWh of total energy annually.

46%

Waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycling

An analysis of more than 100 waste audits of commercial office buildings in the U.S. revealed that about 77% of waste sent to landfill can be diverted through recycling and composting.22 Our team is committed to increasing waste diversion rates across our portfolio. We do so through recycling, composting, material reuse and donation programs within our direct operations and construction projects. We conduct regular waste audits, prioritize vendors that align with our waste reduction goals and partner with local government entities and customers to ensure we avoid as much waste as possible. We diverted a combined total of more than 5,000 tons of waste from landfills in direct property operations and construction projects — about 50% of our total waste generated in 2022.

RENEWABLE ENERGY POWERED

sf in our portfolio had renewable energy credits (RECs) associated with their operations in 2022.20 10 buildings across seven of our properties procured RECs to cover 100% of their electricity.21

100%

OF PROPERTIES

Have lighting controls and occupancy sensors.

To help reduce our carbon footprint, we consider green lease agreements with our customers that include requirements related to energy management, metering and the purchase of clean energy.

Additionally, to support our teams and customers in their efforts to reduce their personal impacts on the climate, 21 properties have installed electric vehicle charging stations as of December 31, 2022.

20 Green power procurement is measured by square footage and can be associated with a whole building footprint or common areas, depending upon the scope of EQ’s management of a particular property. EQ purchases renewable energy credits through Schneider Electric, which procures energy from wind farms across the U.S. 21 EQ buildings that purchased 100% of electricity consumed in 2022 are as follows: Willis Tower, CANVAS (North), Junction at Del Mar (I and II), Highlands Corporate Center (North Court, North Plaza and South Court), Park Avenue Tower, 350 North Orleans.

Direct Operations

We reduced waste23 to landfill by 34% — or diverted more than 2,200 tons of waste from the total 6,590 tons we generated. Of the total waste generated from EQ’s direct operations, 27% was recycled (including e-waste) and 6% was composted. We expanded our composting programs in 2022, aiming for 50% of properties to offer composting to customers. We surpassed this goal, with 53% of the properties in our portfolio providing composting programs — up from 22% in 2020. This was particularly challenging given that composting is not logistically possible in many municipalities.

We believe more sustainable waste management must be paired with educational and community engagement forums. In 2022, we held 43 recycling events for customers, our team and our communities in Chicago, Denver, Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC, and collected about 18 tons of furniture, e-waste and other goods for repurposing and recycling.

Construction

According to a 2021 report by the World Green Building Council, approximately 32% of waste in landfills originates from construction sites.24 We aim to minimize the negative environmental effects of waste from construction by reducing materials and using sustainably produced raw materials. As we consider ways to apply more sustainable innovation within construction to support a circular economy, we are proud to have exceeded our goal to divert 55% of waste from construction from landfill in 2022 by diverting 67% (or 2,819 tons). We put in significant effort to ensure waste was recycled in alignment with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines for the Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials25 through the diversion of waste from landfill, recycling and reuse of materials when applicable.

22 Cook, R. M., & Williams, S. (2018, January). Office Waste Management Optimized: How A Centralized Waste Bin System Can Reduce Operating Costs and Enhance Your Organization’s Sustainability Credentials. https://greatforest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/White-Paper-Office-Waste-Mgmt-Optimized.pdf

23 EQ defines waste in direct operations as all waste generated at a property level from the day-to-day activities and events of customers, employees and communities. Construction waste is measured separately.

24 Beyond the Business Case: Why You Can’t Afford Not to Invest in a Sustainable Built Environment. World Green Building Council (2021, November). https://worldgbc.org/wp-content/ uploads/2022/08/WorldGBC-Beyond-the-Business-Case.pdf

25 Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/smm/ sustainable-management-construction-and-demolition-materials

Reduce Water Consumption

We prioritize water conservation at our properties wherever possible because water is a finite — and increasingly scarce — natural resource. According to the EPA, about 9% of the total water consumed within the American commercial and industrial sector is consumed in office buildings, with restrooms, heating and cooling and landscaping being the most prominent uses of water.26

We set a goal to reduce water consumption by 6% (or approximately 14,090,140 gallons) from our 2021 annual water footprint, and achieved expectations by reducing consumption by about 6.2% (or approximately 14,614,656 gallons) in 2022.27

We align water reduction initiatives with municipal water efficiency standards through monitoring and reporting from 100% of our properties, as well as installing low-flow sinks, toilets and urinals throughout our portfolio. For properties undergoing capital improvements, we install low-flow bathroom fixtures wherever feasible.

26 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2012, November). Saving Water in Office Buildings. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-01/documents/wscommercial-factsheet-offices.pdf

27 For buildings where EQ does not have operational control, water consumption data was supplied by the building.

In 2022, we also installed new waterefficiency mechanisms, such as new plumbing equipment and water management systems in cooling towers at Park Avenue Tower in New York and Willis Tower in Chicago.

Landscaping improvement projects also help conserve water because the new drought-tolerant plants at Hughes Center in Las Vegas require significantly less water to maintain.

For EQ, when we consider social issues to proactively address, it always starts with the wellbeing and experience of our people — our most valuable asset. Building on our long-standing commitment to philanthropy, we are increasingly analyzing how social issues impact our customers, people and portfolio of assets.

Social

We focus on:

Our People

We set our employees up for success in terms of both personal wellbeing and professional development while fostering a community of inclusivity and collaboration.

Professional Development

We believe training and other educational opportunities are key to enabling professional development, instituting company culture and exposing team members to wellness resources. We also design our training programs to enhance talent retention efforts. In 2022, all EQ employees participated in in-person and virtual training. Topics included cybersecurity, health and wellness and workplace behavior.

Additional career development offerings are based on individual employees’ roles, growth plans and goals. These activities include coaching and mentorship, educational assistance and career planning. All employee growth and development plans are rooted in performance management.

Personal Wellbeing

EQ benefits programs are designed to enable the wellbeing of our employees and their families. In addition to traditional medical, dental and vision benefits, we offer health savings and flexible spending accounts and a suite of parental and family medical leave benefits. This suite includes parental leave, adoption assistance, fertility reimbursement and caregiver support. In 2022, we also updated our benefits to ensure all EQ employees have access to medical coverage outside of their home state should needed services and care not be available nearby. We also continue to highlight mental health support services to our team members through both our medical plans and virtually accessible platforms like Headspace and Ginger.

Other personal benefits we deem critical to providing our team include 401(k) retirement savings and income protection plans (such as short- and longterm disability, accident, life and accidental death and dismemberment, and critical illness coverage).

We offer a comprehensive and flexible personal time off program that includes company holidays, summer half-days and paid volunteer days. Our employee assistance program provides confidential access to expert consultants, research and referral services and professional counselors to help with personal, child care, elder care, financial, legal or other everyday issues.

Backup care is offered through Care.com. Employees have the benefits of finding quality care for children, managing the family’s work/school/life balance and gaps in coverage, help with college applications, coordinating care for older adults and finding a dog walker.

Additionally, our employees also have full access to the programs detailed in the Health and Wellness Support section of this report.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At EQ, we strive to cultivate a fair and equitable environment to support our diverse workforce. We believe different perspectives and individuality are valuable and make us a better organization. We support diverse populations in terms of gender and ethnicity but also, importantly, other underrepresented populations, such as the LGBTQ+ community and individuals with disabilities or neurodivergences.

Gender Representation Representation from Marginalized Communities30

Our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives start within our own offices and extend throughout our recruiting, business networks, vendor relationships and broader communities. Looking to 2023, we will formalize our DEI program, building on the great foundational work of our employee-led DEI Committee. We are focused and passionate about the opportunities to collaborate across our network of business partners to elevate DEI in career recruiting and mentorship, vendor diversity and team education.

In 2022, we began more concerted efforts to understand our current state related to DEI through recruiting, mentoring, career advancement and team culture. We also ran pilot educational sessions with third-party experts to increase awareness and stimulate conversation within EQ. Additionally, we continued to elevate DEI through our vendor diversity program that promotes business with organizations led by traditionally marginalized communities.

As we enhance our multi-year DEI strategy, measuring the gender and ethnicity representation data we can access is one of the more useful ways to develop plans and measurable goals to hold ourselves accountable. We believe this information is important to be transparent with our team and other stakeholders (as represented on the next page). While we work to increase ethnic diversity and opportunities for gender-nonconforming individuals to be represented at EQ and within our business networks, we are proud of the number of women represented among EQ employees. According to a 2020 report by Commercial Real Estate Women’s Network (CREW),28 women occupy 36.7% of the commercial real estate industry (a percentage that has changed minimally over the last 15 years). However, we are pleased to report that about 63% of our employees identify as female.

https://crewnetwork.org/getmedia/c3b1b456-46da-4c00-9a6e-da188ed9cd05/crew-network-benchmarkstudy-report-gender-and-diversity-in-commercial-real-estate-2020.pdf.aspx

DEI Committee

Our DEI Committee is a voluntary group composed of employees across the company who are committed to increasing awareness and celebrating the diversity of our EQ team. The group focuses on supporting social justice causes and leads EQ’s observation of cultural and heritage events through resource guides, calls to action and interactive educational and volunteer forums for our teams, business partners and customers. In 2022, the committee observed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, Juneteenth, Pride Month and National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Vendor Diversity

EQ’s DEI standards for vendor engagement reflect our belief that engaging diverse partners leads to better decision-making and stronger performance. The application of these standards has increased the number of small businesses owned by women and members of marginalized communities that we are able to support and benefit from. Our internal teams are trained and required to consider hiring vendors from these communities. We then conduct a quarterly evaluation to track engagements with more diverse vendors.

29 EQ’s management representation is a total count of all individuals within the company who oversee an aspect of the organization, specifically people with job functions classified as “general manager,” “director,” “vice president,” and “executive.” This figure includes all promotions and terminations in the year.

30 EQ considers “marginalized communities” to be defined by the United Nations as communities “often excluded from participation in social-economic life, rarely have access to political power and frequently encounter obstacles to manifesting their identity.”

Case In Point: Vendor Diversity Spotlights

We have been thrilled to enhance our customer experience and sustainable facility attributes in collaboration with the following partners.

Air Conditioning Solutions

Our partnership with Air Conditioning Solutions (ACS), a minority-owned company based in Los Angeles that specializes in industrial HVAC retrofitting, maintenance, repairs, building automation, engineering and customer improvement, has helped contribute to the company’s steady growth from 40 team members in 2007 to 140 today.

Today, ACS is recognized for this product and has since developed an exclusive partnership with the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). This partnership further substantiated the company’s technical ability and innovation skills, leading to the acquisition of many new clients and projects focused on reducing the carbon footprint of buildings. Within the industry, Air Conditioning Solutions is known for their innovative work that champions decarbonization and decreases direct energy demand.

John Baker Founder

Atelier Cho Thompson

In Boston, EQ has worked with award-winning architectural firm Atelier Cho Thompson since 2017. The studio — both minority- and woman-owned — was selected to make major structural and design updates to two properties: 179 Lincoln and 100 Summer Street.31 Atelier Cho Thompson’s work has given a second life to both projects’ structural and architectural features, honoring historic details with hospitality-driven approach.

Ming Thompson, co-founder of ACT, has focused her architectural practice on improving the human experience, so when it comes to the office spaces she and her team designs, she believes that the better you make your office, the more productive the people who work there will be.

“Architecture supports office culture. If talent feels their work environment supports them as individuals, they’re going to stay at their job longer. I think architecture that makes offices feel more like home can yield greater happiness at work.”

31 Data from 100 Summer Street is not included in this this report because it was sold prior to 2022.

of ACS

AIA, IIDA, NOMA, co-founder of Atelier Cho Thompson and a force in Equity by Design and A Rising Tide, projects advocating for women in architecture and Asian and Pacific Islanders in design

Ming Thompson

“EQ Office was pivotal in our story. The first job I did for EQ Office was replacing a four-ton water source heat pump for the first floor of 35 N Lake. The contract with EQ lead to me doing several other jobs and hosting a training session with chief engineers, which changed our trajectory.”

Green Clean Services

EQ’s partnership with Green Clean Services, a woman-owned small business certified by the Small Business Association (SBA), began in 2007. Green Clean Services has cleaned more than 300 buildings for more than 100 clients since it was established 30 years ago. It fulfills a commitment to sustainability through its 100% OSHA safety record, use of biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning solutions and use of reclaimed and recycled water for power washing.

EQ was Green Clean Services first high-rise commercial building project and we continue to work with them in San Diego at Junction at Del Mar for power washing and window cleaning.

“We consider EQ to be a priority client, and a catalyst for where we are today. I can say that my business wouldn’t have been as successful had it not been for the consistent vendor/client relationship which EQ has nurtured with my company. As a woman operating in a man’s industry, it has been difficult to make a name for myself. I cannot express how grateful I am for the loyalty EQ has shown my company.”

Contributing to Our Communities

Contributing to our communities through volunteerism and financial and in-kind donations is not only our responsibility, but also a huge passion for our people and a tradition at EQ. These efforts are foundational to our camaraderie and provide tangible ways to give back to our communities in partnership with our customers. We focus many of our charitable resources toward workforce development and support a range of social and environmental challenges germane to our neighborhoods and employees.

Giving Back With the EQ Team

Janice Callant

President and Owner of Green Clean Services

We are inspired and proud that in 2022, our employees volunteered about 2,000 hours to nonprofit organizations of their choice or through our collaborations with YouthBuild, CareerVillage and other great causes.32 We also hosted nearly 400 events for our team, customers and communities that served to generate in-kind and financial donations for nonprofit organizations. These included blood, clothing, food and school supply drives.

HOURS 2k

Employees volunteered to nonprofit organizations.

~400

Quality Building Services and Quality Protection Services

Over two decades, woman-owned Quality Building Services (QBS) and Quality Protection Services (QPS) have grown to a team of more than 2,000 people who provide specialized cleaning, engineering, consulting, and security, among other special services, for commercial buildings in the New York metro area. Nearly 40 employees from QBS and QPS have worked at EQ properties in New York since 2007. One of the greatest benefits of working with QBS is their Green Cleaning Program, which is designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program standards.

This program includes the use of Green Seal-certified cleaning products and other sustainable services. Additionally, the protection services offered by QPS extend beyond 24/7 security and monitoring, as employees are highly trained in emergency preparedness and the majority obtain certifications from the Fire Department of the City of New York.

To respond to our employees’ dedication to their communities, we offer a charitable matching program and volunteering incentives. Through our Dollars for Doers program, employees can garner additional financial donations for qualified nonprofit organizations. For example, for every 10 hours volunteered with a single qualified nonprofit, EQ employees are eligible for a $100 grant to that organization. For every 50 hours volunteered with a nonprofit, EQ employees are eligible to award a $1,000 grant to that organization.

We also offer eight hours of volunteer time off each year for all full-time employees and recognize a Volunteer of the Quarter and a Volunteer of the Year, who receives a $5,000 grant to the nonprofit organization of their choice.

EVENTS

Hosted for our team, customers and communities that served to generate in-kind and financial donations.

RAISED FOR THE SHIRLEY RYAN ABILITYLAB $1m+

Through an annual event at Willis Tower, which has now generated more than $14.3m over 13 years for this cause. sf DONATED

160.5k

For use by a range of nonprofit organizations working in art, civic engagement, education, mentorship, job training, financial services and health and wellness.

Giving Back With Our Customers

In 2022, as employees increasingly returned to offices, we set out to offer many more events for customers and communities. We increased our yearover-year offerings by 65%.33 Through partnership with our customers, vendors and local communities, more than 16,800 people got involved in about 350 EQ-sponsored events at the property level.

In addition to property-specific events, EQ hosts portfolio-wide educational events and experiences.

16.8k

Were involved in about

PEOPLE

EQ-SPONSORED EVENTS 350

At our properties.

Bee There or Bee Square Trivia

Social Week of Giving

Every November, we extend the concept of Giving Tuesday to host a full week of service — our EQ Social Week of Giving. EQ employees and customers are encouraged to volunteer and prompt donations through facilitated events in partnership with great nonprofits in all cities in which we operate. In 2022, our third annual Social Week of Giving focused on professional development, charitable giving and promoting environmental education.

Results from 2022’s Social Week of Giving include:

Highlights from 2022 include:

Drive for Knowledge

We connected professionals to underrepresented youth nationwide to facilitate mentorship and professional development through CareerVillage, a community where students can get free personalized advice from real-life professionals.

EQ facilitated a customer educational forum on the importance of supporting biodiversity through honeybees, including trivia hosted by EQ’s urban beekeeping partner Alveole, which fosters more than 1 million bees at 14 EQ properties in eight cities.

$1,000

SWEET CASE DUFFLE BAGS 59 MATCHING DONATIONS

Made available for each EQ employee through a program that resulted in 117 charitable donations to nonprofits.

TREES WERE PLANTED 5k

Were assembled and decorated with encouraging messages through Foster Love, which helps children in foster care more easily gather their belongings as they move to a new home.

125

Talking Trash

DC Environmental, a waste management and recycling vendor and an EQ partner since 2022, conducted a tutorial and quiz program to educate customers on limiting carbon footprints through waste reduction and recycling.

BIKES

WERE BUILT

In partnership with the National Forest Foundation

For foster children through Foster Love

VIRTUAL MOCK INTERVIEWS

Facilitated virtual mock interview sessions for YouthBuild students and developed an elevator pitch workshop to be distributed as curriculum within YouthBuild’s network.

Workforce Development

We are uniquely positioned to boost economic health in our communities through job creation and sustainment. EQ has doubled down on this issue through collaboration with YouthBuild USA, the nonprofit for a global network of more than 280 YouthBuild programs. In YouthBuild programs, opportunity youth — young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in school nor employed — pursue their education, prepare for future careers and grow into community leaders, building brighter futures for themselves and their neighborhoods.

We also aspire to support the creation of many jobs by hiring directly or prompting jobs in construction, retail, transportation and tourism, property operations or vendor partnerships. This includes job or internship placement of students who have been formally engaged in the YouthBuild Mentoring model.34

Professional development and skills training are cornerstones of EQ’s workforce development platform. Our collaboration with YouthBuild USA enables us to carry out this work, giving EQ the opportunity to partner with opportunity youth across the country. Through the YouthBuild network, we have supported more than 100 young people in receiving professional development and job training through 41 professional development events held in 2022.35

Our collaboration with CareerVillage, an online platform that facilitates career information and advice, is another avenue for EQ to support workforce development. EQ team members and customers helped young professionals from underrepresented backgrounds with resume-building, interviewing skills and other career advice, making information accessible to a broader audience and allowing flexible access to career information. This resulted in nearly 60,000 post reads from CareerVillage beneficiaries in 2022.

INDIVIDUALS SUPPORTED 100

Through YouthBuild to receive professional development and job training. PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT EVENTS 41

Worked with third-party experts to develop conservative assumptions around how many jobs were created in relation to EQ’s investments where exact figures were not available.

Total number of individuals who received access to training from YouthBuild was measured by the total number of YouthBuild students in attendance at professional development and job training events held in 2022.

Case In Point: EQ and YouthBuild

EQ’s collaboration with YouthBuild USA and the YouthBuild network offers our employees, customers and vendor partners volunteer opportunities to mentor. Together, we provide young people with the confidence and the tools they need for success as they enter the workforce.

In 2022, EQ continued expanding its national impact with YouthBuild by launching the program in Las Vegas and Miami. These two additional cities join our already thriving programs in Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Boston.

EQ’s initiative with YouthBuild provides an opportunity for employees and vendors to connect with the local community through monthly volunteering opportunities with opportunity youth between the ages of 16 and 24. It also gives hardworking and eager candidates from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to join our teams. In addition to workshops, social events and professional development sessions facilitated by employee volunteers, we hosted Youth Action YouthBuild’s Internship Program at our New York properties in 2022. Students in this six-week program received individualized professional development advice based on their goals and future career trajectory and had the opportunity to explore the day-to-day responsibilities of professionals in the commercial real estate industry. We facilitated mentorship and skills training with EQ’s property management team, engineering team, security team and more. This effort not only facilitates job creation in our communities but affords our team members and customers opportunities to share knowledge and inspire the next generation of the workforce.

Since 2019, EQ has supported YouthBuild initiatives in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston, New York and Miami.

Training, Mentoring and More Opportunity in Seattle

In 2022, YouthCare’s YouthBuild, Seattle and EQ partnered on 12 in-person and online events for students through our YouthBuild City Ambassador Program. We hosted nine virtual training sessions to teach young people about the soft skills needed to thrive on the job, including personal presentation, self-awareness, communication skills, conflict resolution and self-advocacy.

Five EQ Office vendor partners — PBS, Star Protection, Andersen Construction, United Building Services and Able Engineering — volunteered their time to join us. This gave YouthBuild students the chance to learn about different fields in the trades industry.

EQ also led training sessions focused on how to use LinkedIn for workforce preparation.

Students at YouthCare’s YouthBuild, Seattle were invited to participate in virtual mock interviews with

EQ employees to support them as they prepared for their first-ever job interviews.

We introduced these young people to the real-life settings they can expect as they apply for work by arranging two in-person mentor sessions and property tours at EQ’s U.S. Bank Center, where they could explore the Class A skyscraper and experience presentations from EQ vendors.

Our local property teams at U.S. Bank Center, 800 Fifth, 999 3rd and The Exchange in Seattle complement these soft skills training sessions with additional forms of support. In 2022, customers donated more than 400 articles of professional clothing to YouthCare’s YouthBuild, Seattle, and EQ purchased 19 pairs of construction boots for their cohorts.

Community and Cultural Engagement

EQ regularly showcases visual art throughout our properties and had several exciting live music events in 2022:

$225.9m+

In economic value generated through tourism at Willis Tower’s Skydeck Chicago attraction, according to the 2022 Economic Impact Profile performed by Choose Chicago.

87%

EQ’s social impact commitment frequently comes to life by investing in local art, community gathering spaces and other points of interest. Public art — whether visual or performing arts — activates creativity and enhances the day-to-day lives of our neighbors, customers and team members. Related developments in 2022 include: OF PROPERTIES

Have public access spaces.

PROPERTIES 14

Have beekeeping engagement sites.

$113k+

WORTH OF FINE ART

Donated to the Washington State Convention Center Art Foundation.

People in Plazas

In San Francisco, we worked with local company People in Plazas to host our Music in the Park series from June through October. The concerts involved hiring various musicians who represented diverse genres.

$29.9m+

Invested in new public access places.

EQ partnered with Magnificent Events to feature 10 local artists steeped in Chicago’s rich musical history. The lineup featured genres such as blues, R&B, country and jazz on the Tower’s newly opened outdoor terrace. The concerts generated job opportunities and increased foot traffic to local businesses.

Seattle Summer Concert Series

EQ’s 999 3rd building team partnered with the Downtown Seattle Association to host a noon outdoor concert in August featuring local funk legends Funky 2 Death.

NEW ~50 Works of art were purchased.

Summer Concert Series at Willis Tower

Heath and Wellness Support

The health and wellbeing of our employees, customers, partners and communities is of the utmost importance at EQ. This is why all our property teams foster wellness through building management, benefits, events and other forums.

WELL Health-Safety Rating (HSR) Operations

Central to this effort, we pursued WELL HSR certifications, a safety rating for facility operations and management. The certification is third-party verified, informed by the WELL Building Standard.

Through preparing for the WELL certification, our teams enhanced indoor air quality (IAQ) testing protocols and adjusted operations of HVAC equipment. However, our teams have been monitoring indoor air quality for several years — even prior to COVID. We implement air quality testing standards wherever possible throughout our portfolio aligned with WELL’s test for temperature, relative humidity, total VOC, ozone, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers.

OF OUR BUILDINGS 34

Worked toward the WELL Health-Safety Ratings (HSR), which represents approximately 80% of the sf in our portfolio across 19 of our properties.36 37

1,080

FITNESS CLASSES OFFERED

ON SITE GYMS

Managed on-site gyms throughout most of our portfolio and continued to subsidize gym memberships and fitness classes for all employees and customers.

We also took steps throughout 2022 to enhance air quality management, in addition to monitoring air flow as part of everyday building management, we:

• Maintained MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) 13 filters across our portfolio wherever compatible with a building’s mechanical systems.

• Increased the run time for HVAC systems to manage energy utilization efficiently.

Offered COVID-19 testing, flu shots and wellness webinars.

CANVAS (South), Fifth Third Center, Highlands Corporate Center, Junction at Del Mar, Market Square, MiamiCentral, North Park, Park Avenue Tower, Playa District, The Exchange,

Customer Experience

We believe the settings and amenities we offer customers promote their employees’ health and wellbeing. This focus on healthy and engaging work environments will continue to be a priority as we move forward, particularly when we can partner with customers to make health and wellness experiences valuable to their employees.

Based on our work in 2022:

100% 100%

OF PROPERTIES OF PROPERTIES

Have inclusive design features, such as ADA signage, wheelchair accessibility and braille signage.

Have common areas that offer social and community interaction.

80%

OF PROPERTIES

Incorporate biophilic design through planters and plant walls.

97%

OF PROPERTIES

Are fewer than 1,000 meters from public transportation.

OF PROPERTIES 80%

Offer healthy eating options on site. OF PROPERTIES 60% Feature soundproofing to enable privacy, security and focus.

To increase access to wellness across our portfolio, we partnered with Wellable, a platform offering virtual and in-person sessions on meditation, self-reflexology, restorative yoga, boxing, kickboxing, self-defense, nutrition, sustainable living, philanthropy and more. Additionally, at every property, we continue to host quarterly events and promote holistic wellness and team and customer engagement.

In addition to our Sustainability and Social Impact Committee structure, we manage annual reporting through internal quarterly data collection and reporting, which translates into annual external reporting.

Introduction

Environmental Sustainability Social

Governance

We focus on:

Ethical Conduct Cybersecurity Building Risk Management

At EQ, governance practices focus on activities to facilitate ethical business and manage risks.

Ethical Conduct Cybersecurity Building Risk Management

As part of our commitment to creating a safe and ethical work environment, we promote transparent communications and require all employees to abide by our EQ Compliance Manual.

The EQ Compliance Manual articulates that EQ does not condone any conduct that is illegal, fraudulent, unethical or retaliatory, which applies within our own teams and among contractors, suppliers, customers and other partners. Annual mandatory trainings reflecting key principles in the Manual help foster safe and ethical environments.

To facilitate open communication, we have an anonymous Ethics Helpline hosted by a third party that allows employees to report possible ethics breaches, conflicts of interest, employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation or other potentially uncomfortable interpersonal workplaces experiences. Concerns are routed to the EQ people and culture and legal teams as appropriate.

We also encourage employees to reach out to their managers, senior leadership, the people and culture team or legal team for guidance on how to report an unethical situation. All reported concerns are investigated promptly. Additionally, EQ prohibits any form of discipline, reprisal, intimidation or retaliation for reporting, in good faith, a potential violation of this policy or cooperating in related investigations.

Given the increasing cybersecurity threats in our society and business, protecting our networks, systems and applications through cybersecurity protocols has never been more important. These protocols include:

• Requiring all employees to complete annual cybersecurity training that underscores the importance of scrutinizing, questioning and reporting content, particularly from unknown parties, that comes in through electronic devices.

• Requiring third-party contractors to complete an annual EQ cybersecurity training.

• Implementing a new tagging system for computers.

• Ensuring all connected devices in our building are protected from cyber risk, particularly as we implement more smart technologies.

EQ’s building risk management and emergency preparedness plans are informed by regular third-party external audits, both portfolio-wide and at the property level. These audits evaluate overall operational compliance, emergency and safety procedures, energy management, indoor air quality and the conditions of our assets. The plans also take into consideration each property’s unique geographical location and building composition.

Building on work over the last several years and in 2022, we took additional steps to optimize building resiliency so every EQ property:

• Is monitored by electronic security systems 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

• Has a fire protection system that meets or exceeds code.

• Regularly educates customers on emergency response and protective actions for life safety and conduct drills.

• Has both an emergency preparation and response plan, and a physical security plan.

• Has a customized crisis communications manual, regular training involving simulation drills and a dedicated agency to assist in real time with customer communications.

• Has a building-wide intercom customernotification system.

• Has a preventative maintenance program and team members who are cross-trained in facilities and engineering operations.

Reporting Methodology

EQ Office’s 2022 Sustainability and Social Impact Report includes data related to properties which were owned and occupied during entire the reporting period of January 1 through December 31, 2022. It excludes properties purchased, sold, or sustained occupancy rate of 0% during the reporting period, which amount to three properties.

The following properties were included in this report either in the copy or as part of our quantitative analysis:

1 1740 Broadway, New York

2 179 Lincoln, Boston

3 211 Main – Schwab Building, SF / Bay Area

4 299 North Euclid, Los Angeles

5 350 North Orleans, Chicago

6 399 Boylston, Boston

7 600 Townsend St, SF / Bay Area

8 621 17th Street, Denver

9 633 17th Street, Denver

10 800 Fifth, Seattle

12 CANVAS (North), Orange County

13 CANVAS (South), Orange County

14 Coleman Highline, SF / Bay Area

16 The Exchange, Seattle

17 Fifth Third Center, Nashville

18 Griffin Towers, Orange County

19 Highlands Corporate Center, San Diego

20 Hughes Center, Las Vegas

21 Junction at Del Mar, San Diego