SITE Centers - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

SITE Centers is Medium Risk.

SITE Centers is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company 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	Lower 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:

SITE Centers integrates ESG into its business practices. From its 2022 Corporate Sustainability Report: “Additionally, the Company’s active ESG program and sustainability initiatives are integrated into board and management discussions and initiatives” (1)(2). However, the company has not canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (3).SITE Centers does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

SITE Centers does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

In 2021, SITE Centers offered “inclusive leadership” training to its leadership team (1). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its recruitment. From its 2021 Corporate Sustainability Report: “Additionally, SITE Helpers was critical in implementing a new recruiting practice requiring at least one qualified female and one qualified person of color to be interviewed and considered as a candidate for every open position within the Company” (2)(3). SITE Centers does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (4).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

SITE Centers’ CEO, David Lukes, 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, hosting a DEI Committee (3). SITE Centers supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2023 Corporate Sustainability Report: “In 2020, SITE Centers’ Board of Directors renamed its Governance committee the Nominating and ESG Committee in recognition of the increasing importance of sustainability to the Company and its stakeholders” (4). The company supports DEI within its business practices. From its 2021 Corporate Sustainability Report: “SITE Helpers is dedicated to addressing the difficult questions and realities pertaining to race relations, diversity, culture and inclusion. It’s more than just empty rhetoric” (5)(6).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

SITE Centers 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:

SITE Centers does not operate a PAC or report on its lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).