Main content | back to top
Social investment
Social investment is Shell’s voluntary contribution to support communities and the broader society in which we operate. In 2008, our country operations spent a total of approximately $148 million on social investment.
We have been involved in social investment programmes for many years, supporting a wide range of community welfare initiatives and projects aimed at:
- education or skills development;
- community development or social cohesion;
- health, environment and safety-related issues; and
- enterprise development and capacity building.
Our criteria for local social investment
Through our social investment programmes, we work with the community on projects that address issues directly linked to our business, like access to energy or education. We also seek to give local people control of the project, and wherever possible, to involve development experts from NGOs.
Our social investment programmes are designed using the following criteria:
- fit with Shell business activities;
- be sustainable: delivering lasting benefits and be self-supporting after Shell participation ends;
- have a measurable positive impact: socially, economically and environmentally;
- be inclusive: involving a range of stakeholder views and opinions;
- based on community needs and designed in consultation with local communities;
- involve local support;
- based on partnerships and local implementation: with NGOs and community groups;
- be transparent: regularly monitored and evaluated with the results clearly and openly reported;
- leverage additional funding: leading to increased benefits; and
- be replicable: to accelerate the learning curve and decrease implementation costs.
Our social investment programmes
Social investment programmes are conducted at a local and national level, but we also support activities that cross international boundaries with our global programmes such as:
Shell LiveWIRE
Shell LiveWIRE aims to help young people explore the option of starting their own business as a real and viable career option. Established in 1982 in the UK, LiveWIRE is a global Shell programme that is managed nationally in over 24 countries on five continents.
The Shell Centenary Scholarship Fund
The fund sponsors postgraduate students from developing countries to study in the UK and the Netherlands. The students gain skills that allow them to contribute to the development of their countries.
Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP)
Every year, 1.2 million people are killed and 50 million injured in road traffic accidents worldwide. More than 85% of these casualties happen in the developing world. We are committed to helping make roads safer. So we work with other companies to help set standards for the transport industry, pool skills and resources, and influence governments to improve the safety of the roads and to raise standards for the vehicles on the roads.
Shell Eco-marathon
The Shell Eco-marathon is an educational platform, started in 1939, that encourages innovation, reinforces conservation and fosters the development of leading technology for greater energy efficiency. Driving 3000 kilometres per litre seems an unlikely distance, but that is the standard of fuel economy that the teams competing in the Shell Eco-marathon project will be trying to match.
HIV/AIDS
We are taking steps to protect our employees and their dependents from the HIV/AIDS, to care for those who are infected, and to work with others to fight the spread of AIDS. A key aspect of our efforts is to create ongoing partnerships with relevant local and global organisations and other key stakeholders to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic collectively. We take part in global partnerships, but local partnerships are also developed in the regions and countries where we operate.
Shell Foundation
The Shell Foundation is an independent charity, established in 2000 with an endowment of $ 250 million from Shell. Unlike traditional foundations, it is more an investor than a donor focusing on global development and environmental challenges linked to the impact of energy and globalisation.
Shell Project Better World (SPBW)
Shell staff launched Shell Project Better World (SPBW) in 1997 to build awareness and understanding of sustainable development. It offers staff the chance to contribute their expertise to sustainability projects, through our partnership with the Voluntary Service Overseas or our own teams at Shell locations around the world.
