Safety, Environment and Sustainability Committee

Committee membership and attendance for 2021

Catherine J. Hughes

Chair of the Committee

100% attendance

5 out of 5 possible meetings attended

Member since: November 1, 2017

Neil Carson OBE

Committee Member

100% attendance

5 out of 5 possible meetings attended

Member since: June 1, 2019

Bram Schot

Committee Member

100% attendance

5 out of 5 possible meetings attended

Member since: October 1, 2020

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Committee Member	Member since	Maximum possible meetings	Number of meetings attended	% of meetings attended
Catherine J. Hughes (Chair of the Committee since May 19, 2021)	November 1, 2017	5	5	100%
Neil Carson OBE	June 1, 2019	5	5	100%
Bram Schot	October 1, 2020	5	5	100%
Sir Nigel Sheinwald (Chair of the Committee until May 18, 2021) [A]	July 1, 2012	2	2	100%
Ann Godbehere [B]	May 20, 2020	4	4	100%
[A] Sir Nigel Sheinwald retired from the Board following the 2021 Annual General Meeting, held on May 18, 2021. [B] Ann Godbehere stepped down from her role on the Committee on October 27, 2021 when she became a member of the Nomination and Succession Committee.

“SESCo focused on Shell’s safety and environmental performance and assurance programme in 2021, as well as targets for the energy transition and sustainability elements of Shell’s Powering Progress strategy.”

Purpose

The Safety, Environment and Sustainability Committee (SESCo) assists the Board in reviewing the policies, practices, targets and performance of Shell, primarily with respect to safety, environment including climate change, and broader sustainability.

Overview

The Committee meets regularly to review and discuss a wide range of important topics. These include the safe condition and responsible operation of Shell’s assets and facilities, environmental protection and greenhouse gas emissions, any major incidents that impact or had the potential to impact safety, environmental performance, and progress towards meeting Shell’s energy transition targets.

The Committee also endorses the annual Shell assurance plan for Health, Security, Safety, Environment and Social Performance (HSSE & SP) and Asset Management, and reviews the execution of the plan and audit outcomes.

The Committee assesses Shell’s overall sustainability performance and provides input to Shell’s annual reporting and disclosures on sustainability. It also advises the Remuneration Committee on metrics relating to safety and energy transition that apply to the Executive Committee annual scorecard and Long-term Incentive Plan.

The Committee reviews and considers external stakeholder perspectives in relation to Shell’s business, and how Shell addresses issues of public concern that could affect its reputation and licence to operate.

In line with the strategic importance of the Committee’s agenda, the Chair of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer of Shell plc regularly attend Committee meetings for discussions on specific topics.

Shell’s Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Committee hold overall accountability for sustainability within Shell. In February 2022, Shell announced a newly created role of Strategy, Sustainability and Corporate Relations Director. The new director is a member of Shell’s Executive Committee.

Activities

During 2021, the Committee focused on the areas of greatest operational and strategic importance to Shell, in line with its Terms of Reference. This allowed the Committee to oversee effectively and thoroughly the practices and performance of the Company with respect to safety, environment including climate change, and broader sustainability.

The topics discussed in particular depth by the Committee included personal and process safety, a range of environmental topics, Shell’s energy transition targets, and remuneration metrics. The Committee also reviewed in detail Shell companies’ operations and the challenges faced in Nigeria.

The Committee supported and contributed to the announcement of Shell’s Powering Progress strategy in 2021. This included a series of targets and commitments under the goals of achieving net-zero emissions, respecting nature, and powering lives. The Committee believes the Powering Progress strategy further demonstrates Shell’s determination to play its full role in the energy transition. The Committee has conducted in-depth discussions with senior management about how Shell’s energy transition targets for the near-term, medium-term and longer-term will be met through a combination of developing low-carbon energy businesses, transforming existing assets to energy and chemicals parks, carbon abatement programmes, portfolio actions, the use of nature-based solutions, and the development of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS).

Following the Committee’s review of remuneration with management, the safety and energy transition metrics have been further enhanced for the 2022 Executive Committee annual scorecard and the 2022-24 Long-Term Incentive Plan in order to drive further performance improvements.

Together with the Audit Committee, the Committee reviewed the controls and procedures for managing contracting and procurement activities. The Committee Chair held several meetings with senior leaders to discuss specific topics, including reducing carbon emissions and enhanced assurance protocols. Committee members also held a series of individual engagements with business directors to discuss their reflections on emerging risks.

The Committee also reviewed wider matters of public concern during 2021 such as plastic waste, methane emissions, human rights, diversity and inclusion, and access to energy in low- and middle-income countries. The Committee engaged with external stakeholders on the topic of plastic waste and undertook a feedback session on how Shell’s energy transition strategy and targets are perceived.

The Committee continued to closely monitor and strongly support Shell’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 in terms of care for staff and the safe management of operations.

For further details on SESCo and how Shell manages sustainability see www.shell.com

Site Visits

The Committee postponed its planned site visits for 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee instead conducted a virtual site visit to the Qatar Gas-to-Liquids facility via videoconference. The visit focused on safety and environmental performance and broader sustainability issues. The Committee Chair also held a follow-up engagement with the Rheinland Refinery in Germany to review safety performance and progress with the planned transformation of the site into an energy and chemicals park.

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