Canadian drivers set to go carbon neutral with Shell

“Our customers have told us they want more ways to reduce their CO₂ emissions and make a difference, but they don’t always know what actions to take,” said Andrea Brecka, General Manager Retail, Shell Canada. “Our Drive Carbon Neutral program is designed to help make it simpler for Shell customers to address their carbon footprint today, by offsetting their fuel purchases.”

Starting November 12, Shell customers can opt into the program at no extra cost when they pay for fuel purchases through Shell EasyPay™ in the Shell app during the promotional period.*
Shell will then offset customers’ emissions by purchasing independently-verified carbon credits generated from Canadian and international projects that protect or restore natural landscapes.**

In Canada, Shell has sourced carbon credits from the Darkwoods Forest Carbon Project, an initiative of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. It markets carbon credits generated from the Darkwoods Conservation Area in Southeast British Columbia (B.C.). The conservation area protects 630km² of rare inland temperate rainforest, sub-alpine meadows and freshwater systems, and protects mature and old-growth forests from being intensively harvested for timber.

“Our customers expect us to do more to help with the transition to a low-carbon world,” added Brecka. “Diversifying into lower-carbon energy and fuel options, and investing in nature-based credits to help offset emissions that are unavoidable, are ways we can better serve our customers’ needs.”

Shell is investing in nature as just one of the ways it is working to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, in step with society.*** Nature-based solutions are projects that protect, transform or restore the land, such as forests, grasslands and wetlands.

On the road, Shell is making a wider range of lower-carbon transport solutions available to customers, including biofuels and hydrogen, and growing the number of charge points for battery electric cars.**** Where emissions cannot be avoided, however, offsetting is an option that can be used to compensate for them, such as through Shell’s new Drive Carbon Neutral program.

Shell also announced today, with Indigenous communities in B.C., it is investing in a reforestation project that has the potential to generate carbon credits in the future. Shell and the Tŝilhqot’in National Government are jointly undertaking a tree-planting project in Tŝilhqot’in territory, in the B.C. Interior, where recent wildfires have significantly impacted the region and Tŝilhqot’in communities located there. Working with Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation, a Tŝilhqot’in forestry company, an estimated 840,000 native tree species including Lodgepole Pine, White Spruce, Douglas Fir and Aspen will be planted on approximately 700 hectares of fire-impacted areas that have not regenerated on their own, or have been slow to regenerate.

The launch of the Drive Carbon Neutral program in Canada follows similar programs Shell offers drivers around the world, including in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and The Netherlands. For more information on the Drive Carbon Neutral program, visit www.shell.ca/CO2Neutral

Notes to Editors

• *This introductory offer will be available every time a customer uses Shell EasyPay^TM with their fuel transaction from November 12, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Beyond December 31, 2020, Shell will continue to offer customers the ability to opt into the Drive Carbon Neutral program by contributing two cents per litre.
• CO₂ emissions generated by the fuel purchased by participating drivers – as well as from the extraction, refining and distribution of the fuel – will be offset by carbon credits.
• The terms “carbon neutral” and “carbon offset” indicate that Shell has engaged in a transaction to ensure that an amount of CO₂ equivalent to that associated with the production, delivery and usage of the fuel has been removed from the atmosphere through a nature-based process, or emissions saved through avoided deforestation.
• One carbon credit represents the avoidance or removal of one tonne of CO₂.
• **In addition to the carbon credits sourced from within Canada from the Darkwoods Forest Carbon Project, Shell will also purchase carbon credits from nature-based projects globally, such as the Cordillera Azul National Park Project in Peru and Katingan Peatland Restoration and Conservation Project in Indonesia. Shell sources carbon credits from projects that are certified under credible, high-quality and independent carbon credit standards.
• ***More information on Shell’s climate ambition and how we’re working on many fronts to avoid, reduce and offset greenhouse gas emissions from our operations and products.
• In Canada, Shell is actively seeking out and investing in lower-carbon opportunities where it makes business sense, including:
  • In Vancouver, Shell and Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation (HTEC) have built two hydrogen refuelling stations in the greater Vancouver area.
    
  • Shell Ventures has provided an equity investment to FORGE Hydrocarbons Corporation that will help build a first-of-its-kind CAD$30 million commercial-scale, biofuel production plant in Sombra, Ontario.
    
  • Shell acquired US-based Greenlots in 2019, whose industry-leading software and services equip drivers, site hosts and network operators with electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. Greenlots has a growing presence in Canada.
    
  • The Shell-operated Quest carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility near Edmonton, Alberta, has captured and safely stored more than 5 million tonnes of CO₂ since its start up in 2015.
    

Enquiries:

Shell Canada Media Relations: media-desk@shell.com

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