Our approach to sustainability

Our commitment to contribute to sustainable development has been part of the Shell General Business Principles since 1997. These principles, together with our Code of Conduct, apply to the way we do business and to our conduct with the communities where we operate. We have embedded this sustainability commitment in our Powering Progress strategy, and our business and decision-making processes.

For more information on our Powering Progress strategy.

Sustainability reporting boundary and guidelines

Data in this section are reported on a 100% basis in respect of activities where a Shell company is the operator (unless noted otherwise). Reporting on an operational control basis differs from that applied for financial reporting purposes in the “Consolidated Financial Statements”. Additional data on our 2022 environmental and social performance can be found in the Shell Sustainability Report.

Our reporting on sustainability follows certain guidelines. For example:

• As a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, we support its updated criteria for membership from 2022, which include requirements for corporate transparency.
• Our reporting is informed by guidelines developed by Ipieca, the global oil and gas association for advancing environmental and social performance across the energy transition.
• We map our disclosures against the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s Oil & Gas – Exploration & Production Standard.
• In the “Our journey to net zero” section of this Report, we set out our climate-related financial disclosures consistent with all the recommendations and recommended disclosures of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seek to address the world’s biggest challenges, including tackling climate change, ending poverty, improving health and education, and making cities sustainable. Governments are responsible for prioritising and implementing approaches that meet the SDGs, but achieving these tasks will require collaboration and collective action across businesses, governments and civil society. We strive to play our part in helping governments and societies to achieve the SDGs. The goals were one of the considerations in the development of our Powering Progress strategy. We believe the actions we take as part of our strategy can help directly contribute to 13 of the SDGs, while indirectly contributing to others.

See our website shell.com for information on how Shell is contributing to the SDGs.

Board oversight for sustainability

We describe Shell´s overall governance framework in the section “Governance framework” and provide information on the roles of the Board, its committees, and the Executive Committee. The Safety, Environment and Sustainability Committee (SESCo) is one of the four standing committees of the Board of Directors of Shell plc. The (SESCo) assists the Board in reviewing the policies, practices, targets and performance of Shell, primarily with respect to safety, the environment including climate change, and broader sustainability. More information on SESCo’s role and activities in 2022 is provided in section “Safety, Environment and Sustainability Committee”.

The “Annual Report on Remuneration” provides details of how the Shell scorecard captures key performance indicators for safety, environment and climate.

Shell General Business Principles

The Shell General Business Principles set out our responsibilities to shareholders, customers, employees, business partners and society. They set the standards for how we conduct business with integrity, care and respect for people. As part of these principles, we commit to contribute to sustainable development, balancing short- and long-term interests and integrating economic, environmental and social considerations into our decision-making. All Shell employees and contractors, and those at joint ventures we operate, are expected to behave in line with our General Business Principles.