Governance

Governance at Plymouth is driven by our commitment to ethics and integrity. From our founding, integrity has been an essential element of how we operate our business. We simply are passionate about doing what is right for our tenants, for each other, with our suppliers, and for our investors. This commitment to ethical behavior is fundamental to the way we have designed and run the company.

 

Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct Guides Us

To support this bedrock commitment to operating with the highest ethical standards, we have developed our comprehensive Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, which serves as the blue print that guides us. Our Code assures no conflicts of interest, no anti-competitive or anti-trust behaviors, no corruption, no insider trading, and adherence to both the letter and the spirit of operating with ethics and integrity. Our Code also provides formal processes and support for whistleblowers, as well as specific guidelines and expectations for anti-corruption practices, labor rights, and human rights.

"In 2023, we had ZERO incidents, violations, complaints, or legal proceedings for ethical concerns, anti-competitive practices, corruption, labor rights or human rights violations, or conflicts of interest, and we have none pending from any prior years."


Plymouth’s “Good Governance” Practices:


  • Seven board members, with six classified as independent under NYSE rules


  • Lead independent director


  • Annual election of directors 


  • Regular executive sessions of independent directors 


  • All members of the audit committee, compensation committee, and nominating and corporate governance committee are independent 


  • All board committee chairs are independent


  • Two of the three members of the audit committee qualify as “audit committee financial experts” as defined by the SEC 


  • Annual board, committee, and director self-evaluations, assisted by outside counsel


  • Stockholder ability to amend bylaws


  • No stockholder rights plan (i.e., “poison pill”) without stockholder approval or ratification


  • Opted out of Maryland control share acquisition and business combination statutes and may not opt back in without stockholder approval 


  • Anti-hedging and anti-pledging policies


  • Claw back policy


  • Comprehensive code of business conduct for employees and directors 


  • All directors, all executives, and all company employees receive stock as a meaningful component of their overall compensation


ESG Governance at Plymouth

 

To help us design and implement our ESG initiatives, in 2022 we established two major ESG governance structures: The Sustainability Committee of the Board and the Management Committee For Environment and Sustainability.


The Board’s Sustainability Committee is responsible for providing leadership and oversight for all Sustainability-related efforts at Plymouth. This includes all our environmental and social initiatives. This Board committee helps develop improvement targets for each year and reviews the company’s ESG performance. 


Placing Sustainability as a Board committee reflects the high priority we place on our ESG initiatives. The committee is chaired by independent director Caitlin Murphy and includes our CEO Jeff Witherell.


The Management Committee For Environment and Sustainability is chaired by our CEO, thus ensuring strong alignment and seamless governance between board guidance and management execution. The management committee develops implementation plans and improvement targets each year and reports to the board on our progress.

 

Data and Information Security

 

Plymouth takes data and information security seriously. We systematically identify our data processes and potential cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities and have built practices to help assure industry-leading protections for both data and devices. We regularly train all employees in our cybersecurity practices and conduct awareness campaigns about potential phishing and other cybersecurity risks. We employ both automated and customized detection and testing procedures and have robust recovery and business continuity plans in place.


"In the past four years, Plymouth has had ZERO incidents of data breaches or compromised information security."


Plymouth’s Corporate Governance Documents:


In addition to our commitment to operating with the highest ethical standards, embodied in our comprehensive Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, we also have a full range of board committees and ESG-related corporate policies that ensure good governance.

















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