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Powering lives

Powering lives through our products and activities, and by supporting an inclusive society

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Shell helps to power lives by providing vital energy for homes, businesses and transport, for cooking, heating and lighting.

The supply of affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is also crucial for addressing global challenges, including those related to poverty and inequality. That is why we are working to provide more energy to those who do not have it today. Our operations support countries and communities. We employ people in more than 70 countries, providing income and other benefits such as health care and pensions.

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Every year, we spend tens of billions of dollars on goods and services in the communities where we operate. Our activities also generate revenues for governments through the taxes and royalties we pay and the sales taxes we collect on their behalf. This helps fund health care, education, transport and other essential services.

We make a positive difference to countries and communities by providing training and skills. This supports local economic development and livelihoods. And we strengthen local economies by promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and meaningful employment through programmes including Shell LiveWire, our enterprise development programme.

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We are working to become one of the most diverse and inclusive organisations in the world, a place where everyone feels valued and respected. We are focusing on four areas: gender, race and ethnicity, LGBT+ and disability.

We are also creating an increasingly inclusive experience for our customers. Our partnership with the fuelService app, for example, allows drivers with a disability to request assistance at our retail sites before they start their journeys, and pay from their cars. We respect human rights in all parts of our business. Our approach is informed by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

How Shell is powering lives

  • We will work to achieve 30% representation of women in our top 1,400 leaders at Shell by the end of 2021, 35% by 2025 and 40% by 2030, compared to 26.4% at the end of 2019.

  • We will provide a safe, caring and inclusive environment for LGBT+ staff so that they can be themselves and reach their full potential.

  • We aim to increase racial and ethnic representation across our workforce so that we better reflect the communities in which we work and live, starting in the UK and the USA and followed by the Netherlands.

  • By 2030, we will make our global network of service stations more inclusive and accessible to customers with physical disabilities.