EastGroup Properties - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

EastGroup Properties is Medium Risk.

EastGroup Properties, Inc. is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. EastGroup Properties implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. The company occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Medium Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	Lower Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

EastGroup Properties integrates ESG into its business practices. From its 2021 ESG Report: “Board oversight of risk management and ESG is integral to the success and sustainability of our Company” (1). However, the company has not canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (2).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

“Full-time employees may take the equivalent of one day of paid time off each year to serve at the charity
or cause of their choice”.However “The volunteering benefit may not be used for organizations that discriminate based on…sex, gender, identity, sexual orientation”, thereby excluding some religious charities (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

EastGroup Properties requires its employees to take unconscious bias training (1). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (2).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

EastGroup’s CEO, Marshall Loeb, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace, strategize on DEI programs/initiatives with other signatories, and engage boards of directors when developing and evaluating DEI strategies (1)(2). The company supports DEI within its business practices. From its Human Rights Statement: “EastGroup supports and encourages diversity and inclusion within our business and the organizations with which we do business” (3). EastGroup Properties supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2021 ESG Report: “We recognize that the ESG landscape is continually evolving, and we are committed to engaging with stakeholders to understand expectations and gather feedback while working towards continuous improvement in each of these important areas” (4).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

EastGroup Properties has not used corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (1).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

EastGroup Properties does not operate a PAC or engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).