T. Rowe Price Releases 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility Summary

Reach of Financial Education Efforts Doubled to 1.5 million Parents, Kids, and Educators in 2015
Aug 18, 2016 10:30 AM ET

August 18, 2016 /3BL Media/ - T. Rowe Price has released its 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Summary, which updates the results of the firm’s efforts to promote financial education, reduce its environmental footprint, and empower associates to have an impact in their communities.

Building financial capabilities
Seventy-two percent of parents say they have some reluctance to discuss money matters with their kids, and 91% agree that it is appropriate for children to learn about financial matters in school. That is why T. Rowe Price developed the award-winning Money Confident Kids® program, which aims to help build financial capabilities in 8 to 14 year old children through engagements with their parents and educators. Money Confident Kids® focuses on three key areas: having kids learn good financial habits early, having weekly talks about money matters, and improving educator confidence. Through the program, the firm reached 1.5 million parents, kids, and educators in 2015, doubling its reach of 750,000 in 2014.

T. Rowe Price was able to reach this audience through its financial education websites, online games, apps, exhibits, programs with Scholastic and Junior Achievement, and sponsored events. The significant increase in reach in 2015 can be attributed to three new initiatives:

  • Disney TRYathlon Road Tour—The Money Confident Kids Exhibit crisscrossed the U.S, traveling to eight cities with the Disney TRYathlon Road Tour. The exhibit provided an interactive experience for participants to learn about setting goals, saving and spending wisely, and basic investment concepts by using life milestones, such as vacation, college, or retirement.

  • Star Banks Adventure game—With educational content created by CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professionals at T. Rowe Price, Star Banks Adventure® is a financial education game that can be played online or on a mobile app. It’s designed with a tile-matching concept that reinforces learning and engages kids in an epic adventure to save the galaxy from financial chaos.

  • Scholastic partnership—T. Rowe Price has partnered with Scholastic to offer a magazine, online resources, and guides for teachers, parents, and volunteers to help teach basic financial knowledge. Also, the firm sponsored an essay contest with Scholastic, in which 850 kids in grades five through eight submitted essays about a time their parent or guardian set and achieved a financial goal. Six winners received $6,000 in cash prizes.

Reducing Environmental Impact
T. Rowe Price remains committed to conducting business in ways that have minimal impact on the environment. While the firm’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 1% since 2010, its emissions per associate have dropped 28%, as its associate population has grown 39% during that time. Landfill waste has decreased by 80%, while recycling has increased 58% and energy recovery has increased 462% since 2010. The firm also expanded its composting program in 2015 and composted 50,000 pounds of waste.

Additionally, 37% of T. Rowe Price’s real estate portfolio has achieved an environmental certification. At the firm’s Owings Mills, Maryland campus, 7,000 solar panels were installed in 2015, supplying 15% of the energy to the adjacent buildings and the 1,200 associates working within them.

T. Rowe Price’s associates play a critical role in putting the firm’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint into practice. Many associates serve on environmental sustainability teams across our global offices and serve as ambassadors that support the firm’s initiatives, as well as initiate their own local projects, including upcycling contests among associates and hosting farmer’s markets on our corporate campuses.

In 2015, to support sustainable agriculture and help alleviate hunger in our communities, our associates grew more than 600 pounds of produce in our corporate gardens and donated them to local charities.

Extending Values to the Community
The firm’s commitment to upholding and acting on its values is evident in the spirit its associates display through providing financial support, volunteering their time, and sharing their expertise. In 2015:

  • More than 3,100 (over 52%) of T. Rowe Price associates volunteered over 57,000 hours through personal and company-sponsored volunteering.

  • More than 300 associates served on nonprofit boards.

  • Associates contributed $6.7 million in workplace giving.

  • Gifts matched by the T. Rowe Price Foundation have more than doubled in the past five years and represented 62% of the foundation’s giving in 2015.

In addition, as part of T. Rowe Price’s commitment to community outreach, the T. Rowe Price Foundation works closely with nonprofits to identify innovation solutions that improve educational outcomes for youth, empower individuals, and enrich community life.

Quote
Renee Christoff, head of Corporate Social Responsibility at T. Rowe Price

“Corporate responsibility has been part of our core DNA since Thomas Rowe Price, Jr., founded the firm in 1937 and integrated investor education into how the firm conducted business. T. Rowe Price’s guiding philosophy has always been to put clients’ needs first, and this attracts associates who have a strong desire to serve others. We’re pleased to share the outcome of our collective efforts in 2015—and look forward to building upon them.”

About T. Rowe Price
Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ-GS: TROW) is a global investment management organization with $776.6 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2016. The organization provides a broad array of mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. The company also offers a variety of sophisticated investment planning and guidance tools. T. Rowe Price's disciplined, risk-aware investment approach focuses on diversification, style consistency, and fundamental research. For more information, visit troweprice.com or our Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook sites.

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Heather McDonold
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Brian Lewbart
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