Sustainable Development Projects

Being at Shell is about values – that’s what defines us as a company; our values and a strong commitment. Shell’s strong general business principles provide the anchor for all our activities. Our core values of honesty, integrity & respect for people are at the heart of the way we manage our business. These principles embody our values, our commitment to society.

The future of Shell is inextricably linked to the future of Pakistan. Our commitment to society, its past & present, continues with the hope of securing a better future for all.

Mangrove Forests Preservation

View the Forest Conservation Project Video

Ayubia Natural Park Conservation

With regards to the environment, we are focusing on two projects jointly with WWF. One is the protection and preservation of the mangrove forests in the Indus delta area (south of Karachi). Mangroves are important for fishing communities, which depend on these forests for their livelihood as well as for preservation of biodiversity. The mangrove forests in this area are degrading at an alarming rate. In a unique, first time partnership; WWF-Pakistan and Shell Pakistan are collaborating on this critical environmental concern.

Working with remote coastal communities requires a long process of trust building. Since these communities are largely ignored and deprived of basic human facilities, they expected some support for their basic human needs such as health,education, drinking water etc. Therefore, an integrated conservation and development approach has been adopted by Shell Pakistan in a joint partnership with WWF to address their needs. The social and development issues of the community are being addressed through networking.

The communities of the area are now very receptive and contributing to
the betterment of the environment of the area. The project has been putting special emphasis on building the capacity of the local community to carry out conservation and development activities by themselves.

Forest conservation is another area requiring urgent attention, with many of Pakistan’s forest being denuded at a rapid pace. Shell Pakistan has focused on an area near Islamabad called the AYUBIA NATIONAL PARK. Villagers who live below the forest line are consuming wood at the rate of 11 metric tons per household. At this pace, the forest will be almost extinct in 20 years. In its pilot project, Shell has focused its efforts in converting the households from firewood to LPG by providing LPG equipment at a subsidized rate to 300 households. The goal is to convert all 25000 houses from the surrounding communities to LPG, which will in turn substantially reduce the cutting down of trees.

This programme is complemented by various awareness-building programmes in the local schools about forest protection. Shell has provided computers and equipment to schools to facilitate this kind of learning.