Finding the right balance

Whenever I ask people how they are coping with the impact of the pandemic, I hear a common theme in their answers. They say they needed to find the right balance. That could be as simple as spending more time outside, finding new ways to switch off or helping the wider community. This was the same for me too. In times of instability, it’s no surprise that balance is the key to making positive change.

The same is also true for businesses. Shell has been changing in recent years and will change even more in the future. For us too, it’s all about balance. In February, we set out our Powering Progress strategy, which combines both business strategy and sustainability. We want to accelerate the transition of our business to net-zero emissions by 2050, in step with society, while generating shareholder value, respecting nature and powering lives. Becoming a net-zero emissions energy business is a huge task. The business plans we have today will not get us there. So, our plans must change over time, as society and our customers also change.

Today, as we publish our Shell Energy Transition Strategy, I want to highlight two parts of Powering Progress. They’re the very aspects that so many people who have been affected by the pandemic told me they now see differently: people and nature.

Firstly, Shell will power lives and livelihoods through our products and activities, and by supporting an inclusive society. We want to become one of the most diverse and inclusive companies in the world. Shell should be a place where everyone feels valued and respected – where all employees can be themselves, thrive and fulfil their potential.

One example is the target we have set for the number of women in senior leadership positions. Our goals are 30% at Shell by the end of 2021, 35% by 2025 and 40% by 2030. And I’m proud to say that we’re at over 30% already. We’re making progress, but we need to do much more.

This is one way we will create a balance in our workforce – and it is just one way we aim to power lives. We want to keep a balance in nature too. We call this part of our strategy Respecting Nature. There’s a growing urgency around protecting biodiversity, preserving water and using resources more efficiently. Protecting the environment has been an integral part of the way we do business for many years. We’re now building on our existing commitments and practices and aligning ourselves more closely with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We’re focusing on four areas: circular economy and waste, air quality, biodiversity and water.

One example is our projects to preserve fresh water. As an energy company we need water for our operations, and we work hard to use it efficiently. But we have to do more. We’re now the first international oil and gas company to set a freshwater reduction target. We’re focusing on areas where there’s high pressure on resources and we aim to reduce freshwater consumption in our facilities by 15% by 2025, compared with 2018.

Pearl, our gas-to-liquids plant in the Qatari desert, was designed to avoid putting pressure on the country’s limited freshwater resources. We treat the water produced in the process and reuse it in the plant. We now have near complete recycling and reuse of water at the facility. This is progress, but again, we aim to do much more. 

These are just a couple of examples of our targets and the areas in which we have set them. We will report on how we are doing every year in the Sustainability Report – we published our latest one last week. We are at the beginning, and only just starting to turn parts of our strategy into reality, but this combination of business and sustainability is the right balance for Shell – and the key to making positive change. #PoweringProgress