Millennium Development Goals

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

This goal is intrinsically linked to the achievement of all the others. Without access to electricity, mechanical power and clean fuels, countries cannot achieve economic goals and improvements in social development, and hence reductions in poverty and hunger.

What is Shell doing?

1. Core Business Activities

LNG vessel Producing and delivering modern energy for development: By 2050, we expect developing countries will need five times more energy than today. Exploring for, and producing oil and gas around the world will be key to meeting this demand because of their affordability, convenience and abundance. Our investment levels have more than doubled since 2000, to $25 billion in 2006 (see www.shell.com/annualreport - opens in new window ).

Our strategy includes growing our Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) business and becoming a leader in Gas to Liquids technology. We are the world’s largest private supplier of LNG and aim to nearly double our LNG production between 2004 and 2009.

We are delivering oil and gas to fuel growth in developing countries. The Malampaya project in the Philippines for example, supplies 30% of the electricity for the Philippines’ main island of Luzon. The West Africa gas pipeline will bring gas from Nigeria to domestic markets in Togo, Ghana and Benin. The Hazira LNG terminal provides clean burning gas to fuel growth in India and the North West Shelf Venture LNG (Shell 22.4%) will supply China’s first LNG terminal in Guangdong.

We are also working hard to make alternative energy competitive– see Millennium Development Goal 7 – so it can play an important role in the global energy mix. We already have the one of the broadest alternative energy portfolio of any major energy company and aim to have a substantial commercial business in at least one alternative energy technology. We also supply liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and are part of The LPG Challenge – see Partnerships, policy dialogue and advocacy below.

Providing access to economic opportunities, revenues and taxes: Globally, in 2006, we paid governments over $17 billion in corporate taxes, and $1.6 billion in royalties. We collected $71 billion in excise duties and sales taxes on their behalf. We provide employment to over 32,000 people in low and medium income countries.

Promoting the use of local suppliers and contractors: In 2006, we spent an estimated $10 billion on goods and services from locally owned companies in low and medium income countries. We have programmes in place to actively promote the use of local suppliers and contractors in more than 90% of the low and medium income countries where we operate. In Nigeria, for example, Shell and the International Finance Corporation are participating in a risk-sharing credit facility to finance indigenous contractors operating in the Niger Delta. Buying locally also helps create opportunities for minorities and women. In South Africa for example, in support of government policies, over 60% of our expenditure is with black economic empowerment companies and we continue to champion minority and female-owned businesses in the USA. Host governments sometimes set requirements for buying or hiring locally. In 2006, Sakhalin Energy - opens in a new window, again met the challenging targets of 70% Russian-sourced materials and services on the Sakhalin II project.

2. Social investment

Capacity building and micro-credit programmes: Based on an annual internal questionnaire to our senior country representatives it is estimated that we spent approximately $140 million on social investment activities in 2006. The largest programmes were in Nigeria and the USA. This amount is separate from the activities of the independent Shell Foundation (see below).

In Nigeria, a Micro-Credit and Business Development Programme promotes Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Many successful capacity programmes operate in the Philippines as part of the Malampaya project - opens in new window.

Globally, Shell LiveWIRE helps young entrepreneurs start and run their own businesses. Established in 1982 in the UK, the programme now operates in over 20 countries including Chile, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka. See www.shell-livewire.com -opens in new window.

Shell Foundation programmes to tackle poverty through market and enterprise based solutions: The Shell Foundation is supporting sustainable solutions to social problems arising from the links between energy, poverty and environment and from the impact of globalisation on vulnerable communities. For more information, see our case study on the Shell Foundation, or go to the Shell Foundation website www.shellfoundation.org - opens in new window

3. Partnerships, policy dialogue and advocacy

Combating bribery and corruption: In energy-producing countries, oil and natural gas revenues can bring widespread benefits, but managed badly, they can stimulate corruption, breed conflict and hurt the country’s competitiveness. We encourage and support host governments’ efforts to use energy revenues wisely. We support the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative that encourages energy and mining companies to publicly declare their payments to governments. See www.eitransparency.org - opens in new window.

Participating in global and local partnerships to stimulate enterprise and provide access to clean energy: For example:

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Sustainable livelihoods project: Researching the role that businesses and markets can play in improving the lives of impoverished people. Visit the WBCSD's page on Sustainable Livelihoods - opens in new window.

Growing sustainable business in Ethiopia: We are the ‘lead business’ in the Global Compact’s ‘Growing Sustainable Business’ initiative in Ethiopia to identify and implement projects that help remove hurdles to sustained business growth and benefit local communities. Visit www.unglobalcompact.org - opens in new window.

The LPG Challenge: We participate in a public-private partnership between the World Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association and the UNDP to expand access to cleaner LPG in rural and urban areas.

Renewable energy and efficiency partnership: We participate in a coalition of governments, businesses and other organisations committed to accelerating the development of renewable and energy efficiency systems. Visit www.reeep.org- opens in new window.