Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

What are we doing?

1. Core business activities

Shell was the first energy company to adopt a biodiversity standard.

Reducing the environmental impacts of our operations: All companies and joint ventures (JV) we control are required to apply our Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) policy and commitment and our global environmental standards, or materially equivalent standards. In JVs we do not control, we encourage the JV to operate in line with our values and apply business principles and an HSSE commitment and policy materially equivalent to our own. We set targets to address our major environmental impacts and annually report our performance. Learn more about our  environmental performance. 

Climate change: Shell was one of the first energy companies to acknowledge the threat of climate change; to call for action by governments, our industry and energy users; and to take action ourselves.Read about how we are managing green house gas emissions from our operations, and helping our customers manage their emissions.

Biodiversity: We were the first energy company to adopt a biodiversity standard. It requires us to respect protected sites, work with others to maintain ecosystems and seek partnerships to conserve biodiversity. We committed not to explore or develop for oil and natural gas in natural World Heritage Sites.Water: The world’s fresh water systems are under intense pressure. We aim to handle water in a responsible and sustainable way. Discover more about water use.

Offering customers cleaner products: We help customers reduce their green house gas emissions by providing options for lower CO2 electricity and transport.

Developing alternative energies:  

We are stepping up our investments in research and development for transport biofuels even further, having already quadrupled our spending between 2006 and 2007. Because of their fit with our current business, they will be the focus of investment in renewable energy over the next few years. Read about our approach to biofuels. Shell Wind is a major wind power developer, with stakes in projects generating 1,100MW of capacity (550MW Shell share). We will continue to operate our existing wind farms reliably and safely.  We are developing thin film solar to drive down the costs of turning sunlight into electricity.  We have demonstration hydrogen filling stations on three continents.

2. Social investment

We are supporting environmental and conservation initiatives.

3. Partnerships, policy dialogue and advocacy

Participating in trade associations:

We participate in a number of trade associations promoting environmental sustainability including:

• International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) - opens in new window: a voluntary non-profit organisation addressing global environmental and social issues related to the petroleum industry.
• The Oil Companies International Marine Forum - opens in new window: a voluntary association of oil companies with the mission of being the foremost authority on the safe and environmentally responsible operation of oil tankers and terminals.
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): a coalition of 180 international companies committed to sustainable development.
• Supporting international codes that cover environmental responsibilities: United Nations Global Compact, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, ICC Business Charter on Sustainable Development.

We are participating in partnerships promoting environmental sustainability including:

• Asia Clean Air Initiative - opens in new window: A regional partnership of cities, national government agencies, industry, NGOs, the World Bank, academia, international development agencies and foundations to address air quality issues in Asia.
• Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) - opens in new window: Bringing together Governments, intergovernmental organisations, major groups, and industry to reduce vehicular air pollution in developing countries through the promotion of clean fuels and vehicles.
• EMBARQ - The World Resources Institute Center for Transport and the Environment - opens in new window: Established with the support of the Shell Foundation to act as a catalyst for socially, financially, and environmentally sound solutions to urban mobility problems.
• Energy and Biodiversity Initiative (EBI) - opens in new window: Bringing energy companies and conservation organisations together to develop and promote best practice for integrating biodiversity conservation into oil and gas development.
• The Global Gas Flaring Reduction Public-Private Partnership - opens in new window: Helping national governments and the petroleum industry to reduce flaring and venting of gas. Shell is a founding partner and sponsor, and participates on the steering committee.
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency partnership (REEEP) - opens in new window: A coalition of governments, businesses and organisations committed to accelerating the development of renewable and energy efficiency systems.