What are crop protection legacies?
Until 1993, Shell companies made and sold crop protection chemicals (pesticides). Shell supports projects that aim to help owners to safely remove and dispose of obsolete stocks of these products. Shell also has a structured programme in place to review and manage environmental impacts at Shell sites where these products were handled.
Although the crop protection chemicals Shell companies used to make were very effective and were used, for example, to control locusts and insects carrying diseases such as malaria, some of these crop protection chemicals are now banned because they are considered toxic and persist in the environment.
Before they were banned, stocks were often donated by aid agencies and the UN to developing countries. Some countries still have stocks of these now obsolete products; available information indicates that eleven countries may have more than 10 tonnes of Shell-manufactured stocks, but neither the funds nor the facilities to dispose of them safely.
Shell companies also handled these products at a number of sites.We have put in place a structured programme to review and manage environmental impacts in line with international best practice.
