About our data

There are inherent limitations to the accuracy of environmental and social data. We recognise that our environmental and social data will be affected by these limitations and continue to improve the integrity of our data by strengthening our internal controls.

All non-financial data we report are reported on a 100% basis, for companies and joint ventures we control, and those joint venture and associated companies not under our control but where we are the operator. It includes all significant facilities. Environmental data are for our direct emissions. We report this way because these are the data we can directly manage and affect through operational improvements.

Operations acquired or disposed of during the year are included only for the period of time we had ownership. Other data are collected from external sources, staff surveys and other internal sources as indicated. Previously, we also included in our data certain companies we did not control or operate but to which we provided operational services. This year, to align more closely with standard industry practices, we have removed these entities from our reporting. As a result, we have restated our safety and environmental data for the past 10 years (unless otherwise noted). Also to align with industry practice, we focus our reporting on the absolute number of fatalities we have, and no longer report a Fatal Accident Rate (the number of fatalities per 100 million working hours).

Data marked S in the social data table come from an internal survey completed by the senior Shell representative in each country. Its accuracy is significantly lower than for data obtained through our financial systems. Data provided in the performance data section of this website are subject to internal controls. They have not been externally verified. To ensure the reliability of our data, we take an approach to assurance that combines internal controls on the factual accuracy of information with an independent assessment by an External Review Committee to check that our reporting is balanced and complete. Find out more about how we go about getting the facts rights, and getting the right facts.

Unless otherwise noted, estimates of the number of homes served are based on the average electricity consumption of a European household. Conversions into US dollars are based on the average exchange rates for 2008.