Science and Technology Equity Fund – ESG Report Providing Transparency on Environment, Social and Governance Aspects of the Fund As at 30 June 2021
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T. ROWE PRICE FUNDS SICAV Science and Technology Equity Fund – ESG Report Providing transparency on Environment, Social and Governance aspects of the fund As at 30 June 2021 ESG INTEGRATION APPROACH • The Science and Technology Equity Fund embeds the analysis of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into its investment process. Our philosophy is that ESG factors are a component of the investment decision – meaning that they are not the sole driver of an investment decision, nor are they considered separately from more traditional analysis. • The process of ESG integration takes place on two levels: first, with our research analysts as they incorporate environmental, social, and governance factors into company valuations and ratings; and, second, with the portfolio manager as he balances these ESG factor exposures at the portfolio level. Both the analysts and portfolio manager are able to leverage dedicated, in-house resources to assist them in analyzing ESG criteria. • Our ESG specialist teams provide investment research on ESG issues at the company level and on thematic topics. Additionally, they have built tools to help pro-actively and systematically analyze the environmental, social and governance factors that could impact our investments. The foundation of the analysis is a proprietary flagging tool called the Responsible Investing Indicator Model (RIIM). It covers approximately 15,000 securities and pulls from data sets that are not in the wheelhouse of traditional financial analysis. These data sets include: - ESG performance data (i.e. number of accidents, carbon emissions, strength of whistle-blower programs); - ESG targets (i.e. plans to reduce carbon emissions, increase diversity, etc.) - ESG incidents and controversies (i.e. environmental fines paid, local community controversies/protests against a company, etc.) • We seek companies that exhibit sustainable growth through product development or innovation, attractive dynamics, and reasonable valuation. Our approach to investment management is rooted in proprietary fundamental research and bottom-up stock selection. Our investment decisions are supported by deep and dedicated analytical resources that span technology, consumer discretionary, communication services, industrials and business services, and health care sectors, globally. Through our rigorous due diligence process, we endeavor to understand the long- term sustainability of a company’s business model and the factors that could cause it to change. We believe that ESG issues can influence investment risk and return and, therefore, incorporate these risk considerations into our fundamental investment analysis. RECENT COMPANY ENGAGEMENTS We maintain a regular dialogue with the management teams of companies represented across the portfolio. Our investment-driven engagement program frequently identifies targets through our proprietary RIIM analysis, governance screening and analysts’ fundamental research. While we engage with companies in a variety of different contexts, ESG engagement focuses on learning about, influencing or exchanging perspectives on the environmental practices, corporate governance or social issues affecting their business. While most of the meetings we hold with company managements will include some discussion of ESG topics, we differentiate meetings held with a heavy focus on ESG, meaning ESG issues were the sole items on the agenda or made up a meaningful part of the meeting. Agenda items are classified as “meaningful” when they take up a significant portion of the meeting or are a significant factor in the investment case. The following are selected examples of recent engagements with companies held in or considered for the portfolio. The examples are not meant to be representative of every engagement held, but to illustrate the types of ESG engagements we are having with the managements of our investment companies. For Investment Professionals only. Not for further distribution. T. Rowe Price Funds SICAV Science and Technology Equity Fund As at 30 June 2021 Zalando (1st Quarter 2021) Focus Social, Environment Company Description Zalando is an online fashion retailer. Engagement Objective We met with the company to discuss its sustainability initiatives. From Zalando: Investor Relations representative Participants From T. Rowe Price: Head of Governance, EMEA and APAC; Responsible Investing Analyst We engaged with Zalando to better understand how sustainable its business practices are, especially as sustainability continues to become more important to customers. The company has experienced increasing search volumes for sustainable items. In 2020, 20% of customers bought a sustainable item. Zalando has also found that customers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable clothing. Zalando is rapidly growing its assortment of sustainable items to cater for this demand (tripled the assortment over the past year, 15% items listed are "sustainable"). Furthermore, Zalando helps to elevate ESG standards among third parties. Most notably, Zalando has required all third-party brands and suppliers to set science-based emissions reduction goals by 2025. In theory, this Engagement Outcome means all Zalando suppliers will have emissions goals that align with the Paris Agreement. This also gives Zalando a positive outlook for its Scope 3 emissions (and shipment) footprint. Zalando's preowned platform addresses rising customer demand for secondhand fashion—it is also the first step toward a circular business and should serve as a customer acquisition tool. The preowned initiative works by allowing customers to send Zalando their used clothing (preapproved by Zalando) for resale via its website. In return, customers can either elect to donate to charity or receive vouchers to shop on Zalando. The engagement informed our investment research. We viewed positively the degree of influence Zalando is exerting over third-party brands on sustainability topics. 1 Scope 1 (direct emissions from owned or controlled sources); Scope 2 (indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, or cooling); Scope 3 (all other indirect emissions). The specific securities identified and described do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold, or recommended for the SICAV sub-fund, and no assumption should be made that the securities identified and discussed were or will be profitable. T. Rowe Price may have ongoing business and/or client relationships with the companies mentioned in this report. T. Rowe Price Funds SICAV Science and Technology Equity Fund As at 30 June 2021 Etsy (1st Quarter 2021) Focus Environmental, Social, and Governance Company Description Etsy is an online marketplace that sells unique, handmade goods. We engaged with the company as part of a regular dialogue on ESG Engagement Objective matters. From Etsy: Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary; Vice President, Corporate and Securities Counsel; Investor Relations Participants From T. Rowe Price: Head of Corporate Governance The purpose of our engagement with Etsy was to have a broad discussion on ESG topics. Specific areas of focus included the company’s COVID-19 response, executive compensation, ESG reporting, and shareholder rights. Etsy’s chief executive officer received a large upfront grant upon joining the company in 2017, when the board committed not to grant any further awards for four years. As a result, the CEO had no unvested shares at the end of 2020, though Etsy performed strongly during the year as its business significantly benefited amid the pandemic. The compensation committee addressed this with a one-time grant of $25 million in shares subject to performance conditions and vesting after a certain number of months, among other measures. We regard the use of special one-time Engagement Outcome grants as suboptimal, and T. Rowe Price almost always votes against companies that use them. However, we will consider all the facts once the proxy is filed. Etsy is a leader in ESG reporting. The company’s reporting focuses on the impact its business has on the millions of sellers on its platform and their communities, rather than on its own footprint. Etsy discloses some Sustainable Accounting Standards Board categories and will introduce Task Force on Financial-related Climate Disclosures reporting in 2021. The engagement informed our investment research and allowed us to share our view on the company’s executive compensation program. The specific securities identified and described do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold, or recommended for the SICAV sub-fund, and no assumption should be made that the securities identified and discussed were or will be profitable. T. Rowe Price may have ongoing business and/or client relationships with the companies mentioned in this report. T. Rowe Price Funds SICAV Science and Technology Equity Fund As at 30 June 2021 Risks - The following risks are materially relevant to the fund (refer to prospectus for further details): Country risk (China) - all investments in China are subject to risks similar to those for other emerging markets investments. In addition, investments that are purchased or held in connection with a QFII licence or the Stock Connect program may be subject to additional risks. Currency risk - changes in currency exchange rates could reduce investment gains or increase investment losses. Emerging markets risk - emerging markets are less established than developed markets and therefore involve higher risks. Issuer