Millennium Development Goals
The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals are eight specific development targets to be achieved by 2015. They include halving extreme poverty, providing universal primary education and reversing the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Read more about the goals below and how we are contributing to them.
What are the Millennium Development Goals?
The Goals are included in a United Nations resolution adopted in September 2000, which commits UN member states “to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level”. They are the first measurable targets set to respond to the needs of the world's poorest people. They recognise the interdependence of economic growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development and the need to involve all sections of society.
Achieving the MDGs is primarily a responsibility of governments. But it will only happen with collaboration from business, development institutions and civil society. Governments will need to create the investment climate needed to help make business development possible.
Read more at www.un.org/millenniumgoals - opens in new window.
Shell’s contribution to the Millennium Development Goals
We believe that by far our biggest contribution to the MDGs comes from delivering the modern energy needed for economic and social development. In particular, electricity plays a key role in achieving the MDGs - whether for lighting, telecommunications or powering water pumps for the almost 1.6 billion people living without electricity.
But it is not only through our products that we contribute. We operate in more than 130 countries. Our operations themselves can also help, for example by generating revenues for host governments, providing jobs and income for staff, local contractors and suppliers, and supporting community development projects.
In the table below, we detail our contribution to the MDGs using the UNDP and IBLF framework (
‘Business and the Millennium Development Goals - a framework for action’ (PDF, size 372Kb) - opens in new window), which organises contributions into three categories:
1. Core business activities
2. Social investment
3. Partnerships, policy dialogue and advocacy activities
Click on each goal in the table below to find more details.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has built upon the UNDP/IBLF document by recommending indicators from its ‘Sustainability Reporting Guidelines’ to help businesses measure and communicate their contributions. We therefore also list the GRI indicators relevant to each goal, details of which can be found on our GRI Reporting site. See the GRI’s ‘Communicating Business Contributions to the Millennium Development Goals’ (PDF, size 233Kb) - opens in new window for more details.
| UN MDGS | Shell's contribution | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Core business activities | Social investment | Partnerships, policy dialogue and advocacy | |
| 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger | Producing and delivering modern energy for development Providing access to economic opportunities, revenues and taxes Promoting the use of local suppliers and contractors | Capacity building and micro-credit programmes Shell Foundation programmes to tackle poverty through market and enterprise based solutions | Combating bribery and corruption Participating in partnerships Shell Foundation enterprise solutions to poverty campaigns |
| 2. Achieve universal primary education | Producing and delivering modern energy for development Tackling child labour | Providing support to local schools and education | Supporting efforts to combat indoor air pollution Supporting international codes |
| 3. Promote gender equality and empower women | Producing and delivering modern energy for development Providing employment and economic empowerment for women Promoting flexible working | Tackling indoor air pollution Supporting women’s groups | Supporting efforts to combat indoor air pollution Supporting international codes |
| 4. Reduce child mortality | Producing and delivering modern energy for development Improving children’s health indirectly via other goals | Tackling indoor air pollution Providing support for health projects | Supporting efforts to combat indoor air pollution Supporting international codes |
| 5. Improve maternal health | Producing and delivering modern energy for development Providing employment and economic empowerment for women Improving women’s health indirectly via other goals | Tackling indoor air pollution Supporting women’s groups Supporting health projects | Supporting efforts to combat indoor air pollution |
| 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases | Implementing workplace HIV/AIDS programmes | Providing support to HIV/AIDs, malaria and other health projects | Participating in partnerships |
| 7. Ensure environ-mental sustainability | Reducing the environmental impacts of our operations Offering customers cleaner products Developing alternative energies | Supporting environmental and conservation initiatives | Participating in trade associations Supporting international codes Participating in partnerships promoting environmental sustainability |
| 8. Develop a global partnership for development | Working with partners to find, produce and deliver energy | Working in partnerships with global and local organisations | Supporting international codes Participating in partnerships |
