Social investment

We invest in community projects so that local people may benefit from social and economic development. This investment is sometimes voluntary and sometimes required by governments, or part of a contractual agreement.

The intent of our social investment programmes is to benefit Shell as well as society or the environment. We have three global social investment themes:

• access to energy;
• science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education; and
• community skills and enterprise development.

Social investment programme focus areas are determined by local community needs and priorities.

Social investment

$175 million

overall

Social investment

$102 million

in lower-income countries

In 2018, we spent almost $175 million on social investment, of which 35% was required by government regulations or contractual agreements. We spent $113 million on voluntary social investment, of which around $66 million was in line with our global themes. The remaining $47 million was spent on local programmes for community development, disaster relief, road safety, health and biodiversity.

More than $102 million of our total social investment spend in 2018 was in countries that are part of the UN Development Programme’s Human Development Index 2017. These countries have a gross domestic product of less than $15,000 a year per person. Significant support is also provided in the form of voluntary work by Shell employees and equipment donations.

Social investment in 2018

proportion of spend

Social investment in 2018

by region