Society

Our biggest contribution to society is providing the energy the world needs for economic growth and development. Shell companies provide about 2% of the world’s oil and 3% of its natural gas. We sell transport fuel to around 10 million customers a day and enough liquefied natural gas to provide electricity for 34 million homes.

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 - opens in new window.

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.

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.

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.