Considering the impact on water, air and land early in projects will become even more important as the search for oil and gas takes us to more environmentally sensitive locations. So will improving the way we run our day-to-day operations to use less energy and fresh water, and prevent spills.
We are working to better manage our environmental impact, drawing on our experience of improving Shell’s safety performance through safer behaviours and enforcing rules. We are focusing on key areas such as CO2, flaring, spills, water, and environmentally sensitive areas. For CO2, this includes investing in programmes to make our refineries and chemical plants more energy efficient, and developing carbon capture and storage technology. We continue working to reduce continuous gas flaring in Nigeria. In new projects, we consider sensitive areas early, developing biodiversity action plans and collaborating with experts to protect rich ecosystems. We are also preparing for longer-term environmental challenges, such as potential local water shortages.
We work in partnership with leading environmental organisations to support conservation, and to help improve standards and practices in environmental management in the energy sector. In 2010, we worked on more than 30 projects with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Wetlands International, The Nature Conservancy and Earthwatch. These included working to improve the sustainability of biofuels, helping to conserve wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico, and a multi-industry initiative to produce a plan for responsible development of the Arctic.
