Contributing to sustainable development is integral to the way we do business.

As we work to
help meet the world’s growing energy needs we aim to share benefits with local communities
and reduce impacts of our operations, including tackling greenhouse gas emissions. We look
after our people and our core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people have been
laid out in the Shell General Business Principles for over 30 years.

Sustainable development in Shell

For us, contributing to sustainable development means helping to meet the world’s growing
need for energy in economically, socially and environmentally responsible ways. We aim to
share benefits and limit our impact by carefully selecting our project investments, by
improving the way we run our operations, and by making better products.

To manage the impact of our operations and projects on the environment and society we have
a comprehensive set of standards and requirements covering health, safety, security,
environment (HSSE) and social performance (SP).

The Shell General Business Principles provide high level guidance and our Commitment and
Policy on HSSE & SP reflects our aims on how we operate and involve communities close to
our operations. All companies, contractors and joint ventures under Shell operational control
must manage HSSE and SP in line with the Commitment and Policy, and apply our
mandatory standards and requirements.

We consider environmental and social factors in our investment decisions and when planning
major new projects including, for example, the expected future costs of emitting CO2.

Before starting any substantial work on major projects or existing facilities we perform an
environmental, health and social impact assessment and we carry out subsequent reviews.

We have a Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee, made up of four Non-executive

Directors, to assess our policies and performance. The Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell
plc is accountable for sustainable development and he chairs our HSSE and Social
Performance Executive, which reviews environmental and social performance and sets
priorities, key performance indicators and targets.
Society
We supply energy which helps to support economic development, and work with
communities where we operate to address concerts and share the benefits of our
operations.

Our neighbours
We aim to be good neighbours in the communities where we operate. This means more
than running our operations cleanly and safely: it also means working with people close to
our operations to address their concerns and help them benefit from our activities.
This includes buying and hiring locally, and supporting social investment programmes.
In Malaysia, our social investment programmes are often run in partnership with other
private, voluntary and community-sector organisations based on shared objectives, common
approaches and complementary resources. 
How we do business
The Shell General Business Principles include our support for fundamental human rights in
line with the legitimate role of business. We aim to work with integrity, even as the search
for oil and gas takes us into challenging locations and politically sensitive countries. We
pay taxes and royalties to the governments of countries where we operate, and these are
often their main source of revenue.
Human rights
Our Business Principles include our aim to respect the human rights of our employees and
support fundamental human rights in line with the legitimate role of business. We also work
with others to support international efforts to improve understanding of the relationship
between business and human rights.
HIV and AIDS
Our company-wide HIV/AIDS programme states we do not discriminate against anyone
affected by HIV/AIDS. We also help to provide treatment for employees affected by
HIV/AIDS. In partnership with other companies and organisations we work to raise
awareness and support efforts to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS in the communities where
we operate.
Environment
Meeting the world’s growing energy needs and protecting the environment requires new
technology, partnerships and ways of operating. We continually look for ways to limit the
environmental impact of our operations.

Climate change and Shell

We were one of the first energy companies in 1997 to acknowledge the threat of climate
change, to call for action by governments, our industry and energy users, and to take action
ourselves. Fossil fuels will continue to satisfy the bulk of the world’s growing need for
energy for decades to come so managing CO2 emissions from coal, oil and natural gas is
critical in tackling climate change.

Our approach includes:

1. Increasing the efficiency of our operations.
2. Establishing a substantial capability in carbon capture and storage(CCS).
3. Continuing to research and develop technologies that increase efficiency and reduce
emissions in hydrocarbon production.
4. Developing low-CO2 sources of energy, including natural gas and low-CO2 fuels.
5. Manage energy demand by growing the market for products and services that help
millions of retail and business customers use less energy and emit less CO2.
6. Actively encouraging governments to provide an effective international policy
framework for managing CO2 and other greenhouse gases.
Managing environmental impacts
Biodiversity
Protecting biodiversity is an important factor when we consider any new major project or
large expansion to existing operations. To help protect biodiversity and promote
conservation we work in partnership with leading conservation groups, including Wetlands
International and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

If an area is rich in biodiversity we engage with local communities and experts and develop
biodiversity action plans. We also support research, such as helping to identify endangered
species.

Preventing spills
Spills of oil and oil products can harm the environment and put our employees and
neighbouring communities at risk. Over the years we have reduced the amount spilled at
our operations for reasons we can control, like corrosion or operational failures.

To help prevent spills from oil tankers, our ship quality assurance standard sets out
requirements for the ships we use. For example, we require larger ocean vessels to have
double hulls.

Cleaner air
We have made efforts to reduce the emissions of local pollutants from our operations. This
has involved a wide range of investments to upgrade facilities, install cleaner-burning
equipment and sulphur dioxide capture technology.
Reducing water use
New technology is playing a critical role in helping us reduce water use. Our Pearl GTL
plant in Qatar, for example, has been designed to take no fresh water from its arid
surroundings. The Schoonebeek project in the Netherlands will re-use municipal
wastewater to make steam.
Safety
Safety is always our first priority. We aim to have zero fatalities and no incidents that harm
people, or put our neighbours or facilities at risk.

To prevent accidents, we manage safety in a systematic way and are introducing simpler and
clearer requirements that are easier for people to understand and follow.

All companies and joint ventures under Shell operational control must manage safety in line
with our Commitment and Policy on Health, Safety, Security (HSSE) and Social Performance
(SP), or materially equivalent policy. It is supported by a set of mandatory manuals covering
topics such as personal safety, road safety and process safety.

We are working to keep our staff and contractors safe by focusing on compliance and
tackling the cultural issues that can lead to unsafe behaviour. The Goal Zero programme that
we launched in 2007 captures the belief that we can operate with zero fatalities and zero
significant incidents.

Among our staff we are developing safety leadership skills, rewarding successful
performance and getting better at checking that rules are being followed.

Our Life-Saving Rules reinforce what staff and contractors must know and do to prevent
serious injury or fatality, such as wearing a seat belt, or risk disciplinary action.
Alternative energies for transport
The number of vehicles on the road is expected to double to around 2 billion by 2050, yet
CO2 emissions must fall to avert serious climate change. Meeting growing demand for
cleaner, lower-CO2 transport fuels will include a range of approaches, such as vehicles
powered by biofuels or hydrogen fuel cells.

Biofuels
Biofuels are produced from biomass, such as plants, and can be used in transport fuel. We are
already the world’s largest distributor of biofuels. Now we are building our capacity in
today’s biofuels and working to make them more sustainable.

The CO2 performance of current biofuels depends on how they are produced. Ethanol made
from Brazilian sugar cane, for example, produces around 70% lower CO2 emissions from
production to use than petrol.

Today’s most widespread biofuel, ethanol, is commonly made from starchy or sugary plants

Hydrogen
Hydrogen is likely to play an increasingly important role in transport in decades to come. It
is an energy carrier so its CO2 emissions depend on how it is produced. Most hydrogen is
currently made from non-renewable sources like gas and coal, but in the future more could
come from renewable energy or electrolysis.

We are involved in research and demonstration projects and have already opened a cluster of
commercial hydrogen filling stations.