Our approach to globalisation
Globalisation is often characterised as greedy multinationals exploiting the poor and destroying the environment for their own good.
What do we believe?
In a world where one in five live in abject poverty, we understand such genuine concern and believe that:
- Globalisation can be shaped as a positive force by political will and responsible business practices. This offers a chance to provide social benefits currently enjoyed only by the minority, such as universal health care and education.
- Governments have a big role to play in making this happen, mainly by establishing the conditions to attract the necessary foreign investment to generate wealth and sustainable growth.
What role can Shell play?
Shell makes a positive contribution in a myriad of ways: employment, training, investment and advances in technology, to name a few.
We listen to the needs of the local community and work with them, and with governments and non-governmental organisations, to contribute to sustainable development.
We look to enhance the benefits of growth - such as higher employment, greater wealth and more tax contributions to governments - and minimise any negative effects.
Environment
We have a set of Shell-wide standards that set consistent global requirements for how we address our main environmental issues. They include our 
Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) commitment and standard, our Biodiversity standard and our Global environmental standards. The minimum environmental standards apply globally to ensure that Shell operations in countries lacking standards or environmental enforcement maintain the same level of environmental protection as in OECD nations.
Society
We are improving the way we engage with the people affected by our activities. This is reflected in a broad range of actions including a comprehensive policy on human rights and a social investment programme that delivers lasting value (see our approach to interacting with communities, human rights and social investment ).
