Environment

India Photography Project, The Netherlands, 2014 - Hazira LNG tanks

Our world needs energy to support and improve life for a growing population. Shell provides energy in a responsible way: we aim to limit any impact on the environment and support the transition towards a lower-carbon future.

Towards a lower-carbon world

Shell has long recognised the climate challenge and the role of energy in enabling a decent quality of life. We believe that, while technological developments will emerge, effective policy and cultural change is essential to drive low-carbon business and consumer choices and opportunities.

Shell supports the establishment of government-led carbon “pricing” mechanisms that deliver a meaningful cost on CO₂ emissions, necessary to create transitions to lower-carbon power and fuel options.

Learn more about climate change and the energy transition

Discover what we are doing to achieve a cleaner energy future

Preventing spills

Oil or product spills damage the environment and endanger our employees and neighbouring communities. To avoid spills and leaks of hazardous substances, we work hard to make sure our facilities are well designed, safely operated, and appropriately inspected and maintained. We invest in the equipment and human expertise we need to deal with any spills that happen.

Air quality

Producing and using fossil fuels can affect air quality. We have developed more efficient transport fuels for customers and focused on improving motorists’ fuel efficiency. We also work to reduce air pollution from our operations, including limiting emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and volatile organic compounds.

Find out more about Shell and cleaner fuels
Learn more about how we help customers reduce their emissions

Shell’s Environmental Coordinator tests a water sample

Fresh water

We take steps to manage our use of water and apply new approaches and technologies to reduce our use of fresh water. We comply with water regulations wherever we operate and also set our own mandatory water standards, which match best practice for our industry.

We tailor our use of fresh water to local conditions, as water constraints tend to affect people at the local or regional level. In some cases, we use alternatives to fresh water in our operations; these include recycled water, processed sewage water and desalinated water.

Find out more about Shell and fresh water

Biodiversity

Our projects can affect local biodiversity and dependent communities. We apply stringent standards to help reduce any impacts our operations may have, particularly in critical habitats, which are areas that are rich in biodiversity or under protection.

We work with several conservation organisations, including Earthwatch, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, The Nature Conservancy, and Wetlands International. Our projects with biodiversity partners include working to restore natural habitats and ecosystems close to our operations.

Discover more about our work in biodiversity and our projects to protect the land and sea

Learn more about how we’re helping to protect wolverines.

Land Conservation

Canada has both a national and global responsibility to preserve the best of its natural heritage. Conservation land provides a direct benefit to Canadians by supplying natural habitat for plants and animals, maintaining biodiversity and filtering our water and air.

To date, Shell has helped conserve over 31,000 acres of land in Canada and we continue to support initiatives that will preserve our natural heritage for future generations. Our leadership in land conservation began in 1992 with establishment of the Mount Broadwood Heritage Conservation Area near Fernie, British Columbia. At over 22,000 acres, the property remains the largest donation of conservation land in Canadian history.

Uncover our land conservation efforts