$39 million+
The value of Shell’s global contribution so far
COVID-19: Shell’s global response
Aug 14, 2020
While many countries are emerging from lockdowns and showing signs of recovery, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a serious impact on people’s health and livelihoods around the world. Shell is working hard to assist in the global fight against the virus, and to support recovery efforts.
One of Shell’s most significant roles continues to be keeping energy supplies flowing as countries reopen businesses, shops and schools. Beyond this, we estimate that Shell’s total contribution during the pandemic, including donations of funds, fuel, food, equipment and services, so far amounts to more than $39 million.
Our priority remains to support our colleagues, our customers and the communities where we work through these unprecedented times.
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30 countries
Where key workers have received free food or drinks
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2.5 million
Litres of IPA, used in sanitisers, donated in the Netherlands
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$3 million
Donation to the Mercy Corps resilience fund
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One field hospital
Built in Brazil in partnership with the Brazilian Petroleum Institute
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200,000 health kits
Sent to health workers in Indonesia
Colleagues
We have taken many steps to protect the health of our colleagues, including requiring or encouraging office-based staff to work from home, depending on the advice of local authorities. We are providing the technology support to ensure up to 70,000 people can work from home each day.
For people working on our platforms offshore, or our facilities onshore, we continue to enforce social distancing and carry out health screening, and have procedures in place to allow the safe evacuation of any suspected cases of COVID-19.
Similarly, in our global network of retail stations, we are enforcing social distancing, and carrying out deeper cleaning. We have also put in place other protections such as screens for till operators.
Our confidential counselling service is available to help colleagues experiencing the psychological impact of the pandemic, and we continue to provide extra online resources to help people manage their physical and mental well-being.
Customers
We have business continuity plans in place at each of our operating sites to sustain our operations and supply chains, so that we can continue to provide vital energy products to countries and communities, businesses and individuals.
Across the world, our forecourts are helping to keep crucial services, such as ambulances, emergency vehicles and deliveries, on the roads.
Shell is doing many things to keep our customers safe at our retail sites. These include carrying out enhanced cleaning operations, increasing stocks of sanitation products and other essential goods, and social distancing.
We are working with business customers to meet demand for essential hand and surface cleaning products. At our manufacturing plants at Pernis in the Netherlands and Sarnia in Canada, for example, Shell is diverting resources to make isopropyl alcohol (IPA). This chemical ingredient makes up about half the content of hand-sanitising liquids. Shell has also started making IPA at its manufacturing plant in Bukom, Singapore.
Communities
We are supporting efforts by communities to halt the spread of the virus.
For example, Shell has granted $1.7 million to six companies providing electricity in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda to support customers in financial difficulty because of the pandemic.
Through these companies’ existing customer networks, Shell’s grants will reach up to 700,000 people.
Separately, Shell has donated $3 million to the COVID-19 Resilience Fund set up by Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian and development organisation working in more than 40 countries.
We are helping people working on the front line of the fight against the virus in other ways. At more than 15,000 of our retail sites, in more than 30 countries, we have donated over 2 million free food or drink items to more than 1.5 million health-care professionals such as nurses and doctors, as well as truck drivers and delivery people who are vital to maintaining supplies.
We also offered free fuel to health-care providers and ambulances in countries including Brunei, Bulgaria, Mexico, the Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Russia and Turkey.
And we donated more than 1.3 million pieces of personal protective equipment such as face masks, face shields, gloves and goggles to hospitals, front-line workers and vulnerable communities in countries including Brazil, Canada, Italy, Philippines, and the USA.
More on Shell’s response to COVID-19
COVID-19: a message from Shell’s CEO
This is a moment like no other we have experienced before. But the world will overcome.
Shell supports supplies for soaps and sanitisers
We have increased production of some of the key ingredients that go into soaps and sanitisers.
The workers delivering energy through the lockdown
Shell’s key workers are still delivering energy and fuel to keep vital services going. Inside Energy reports.