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Impact assessment
We contribute to sustainable development by working to deliver benefits through our operations, while helping to reduce their impacts. Impact assessments help us to do this. They outline the steps needed to help reduce the impacts of our operations on the environment or people.
Before we start work on major projects or make changes to existing facilities, we require systematic assessments of potential environmental, health and social impacts.
An impact assessment is a structured way to look ahead at the positive and negative impacts that can arise in a project’s life. They help ensure environmental and social impacts are identified, and measures are taken to reduce them.
We use impact assessments to help us get our projects right the first time, from the start.
The impact assessment process in Shell
In impact assessments we:
- identify the most important issues related to the project;
- find out about existing environmental, social and health conditions;
- find out about relevant regulations and standards;
- predict the main impacts and benefits of the project;
- work out how to reduce or remove any impacts and enhance the benefits, and make a clear action plan to do so;
- weigh up any impacts still left against the benefits to help make the decision whether to go ahead with the project or not;
- and put steps in place to follow through.
Role of stakeholder engagement
Our impact assessments must include engagement with key external stakeholders. This is extremely important in developing an understanding of the environmental and social issues involved. We start talking to our stakeholders as early as possible, and aim to create and maintain relationships that are based on mutual trust and respect throughout the life of a project.
Importance of integration into projects
For our projects to be successful it is vital that the environmental and social impacts are considered and acted on as part of the project design and in decision-making. This means the findings of the impact assessment must be fully included in the project plan.
