About our reporting

We began reporting voluntarily on our environmental and social performance with the first Shell Report in 1997. We support transparency and share information and data in this report and on our company website.

We also provide regular information to the Carbon Disclosure Project, Dow Jones Sustainability Index, FTSE4Good Index and other organisations that assess the economic, environmental and social performance of companies.

About our data

There are inherent limitations to the accuracy of environmental and social data. We recognise that our data will be affected by these limitations and continue to improve data integrity by strengthening our internal controls.

All non-financial data in this report are reported on a 100% basis for companies and joint ventures where we are the operator. Environmental data pertain to our direct emissions unless otherwise stated. We report in this way, in line with industry practice, because these are the data we can directly manage and affect through operational improvements. We refer to the number of people employed or contracted on a “full-time equivalent” basis.

Operations acquired or divested during the year are included only for the period of our ownership. Our 2015 reporting does not include data from BG Group. Other data are collected from external sources, staff surveys and other internal sources as indicated.

We only include data in this report that were confirmed by the end of March 2016. If incidents are reclassified or confirmed, or if significant data changes occur after preparation of this report, they will be updated in the following year’s publication. Data marked in the social data table come from an internal survey completed by the senior Shell representative in each country. The accuracy of environmental and social data may be lower than that of data obtained through our financial systems.

Assurance

We have clear standards and reporting requirements for our health, safety, security, environment and social performance data. This is supported by internal controls such as audit trails and statistical checks to help ensure the accuracy of the Shell Sustainability Report.

The External Review Committee of independent experts helps to make sure our reporting is balanced, relevant and responsive to stakeholders’ interests.

Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Ltd has provided limited assurance of our direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions data for 2015. Limited assurance means nothing has come to the auditor’s attention that would indicate that the data are not correct.

Conversions into US and Canadian dollars are based on the average exchange rates for 2015.