Topic overview

The 2019 Sustainability Report, published on April 7, 2020, is our 23^rd such report. It focuses on the key sustainability challenges and opportunities we face and the many ways in which we are responding. It details our social, safety and environmental performance in 2019.

Topic selection

The topic selection process identifies the sustainability subjects that were most relevant to Shell and our stakeholders or were prominent globally in 2019.

Each year, we use a structured process to select the report’s content. We engage with various groups and individuals to understand specific concerns about our business and its impact worldwide, particularly relating to the environment and society. We consider the views of others such as non-governmental organisations, customers, the media, academics, investors and employees. We gather opinions and advice in various ways, including formal and informal meetings, workshops and surveys.

This report lists the topics that were a priority for Shell in 2019. Topics that consistently ranked of higher importance were energy transition and climate change, business ethics, transparency and corporate governance.

The main steps involved in selecting topics were:

• identify and understand topics that are important to our stakeholders and our strategy;
• collate the topics identified as of high importance;
• identify the topics that will be covered on www.shell.com;
• consider input from our Report Review Panel to ensure that coverage is balanced, relevant and complete; and
• inform Shell’s Executive Committee of the topics, for its endorsement.

External voices

Several individuals have shared views on Shell’s activities in sections called “External voices”. These quotes are intended to give independent perspectives on our activities. They come from a range of organisations in areas such as civil society, academia, contracting and supply, community leadership, as well as customers and people living or working near our facilities. They also reflect some of the different regions where we operate and some of our businesses and projects. The views expressed are those of the individual and do not represent views by Shell. Contributors are not remunerated.

Reporting guidelines

We report in line with guidelines developed by IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association for advancing environmental and social performance. This report has also been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards: Core option (see GRI index for full details).

We used the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to guide and inform our reporting in our Sustainability Report and Annual Report, which were complemented by our Sky scenario and the Shell Energy Transition Report.

More detailed information about how we report is available at www.shell.com