Performance highlights

Goal 2019

TRCF ≤ 0.7

Achieve total recordable case frequency (TRCF) – the number of injuries per million working hours – of 0.7 or below for employees and contractors.

Goal Zero has been our ambition for personal safety since 2007.

Progress in 2019

Total recordable case frequency (TRCF)

The TRCF was 0.9 in 2019; the same as in 2018 (see Safety performance).

Priorities in 2020

• Start to deploy a new approach to safety with a more consistent focus on the way people, culture, equipment, work systems and processes interact.
• In road safety, continue to focus on effective implementation of proven practices across all lines of business, with an emphasis on improving the management of fuel transport in high-risk countries. Work with road transport contractors to increase the use of advanced technology to support safe driving.
• Support the development and implementation of common industry safety standards.
• Improve our capabilities to learn from audit findings and investigations into incidents with the potential to cause harm.

Goal 2019

Leaks ≤ 115

Reduce the number of operational leaks to 115 or below (classified as “operational Tier 1 and 2 process safety events”).

Since 2011, we have extended our ambition of Goal Zero to process safety.

From 2017, we combined operational Tier 1 and 2 safety events when setting the target. Previously, we only used Tier 1 events.

Progress in 2019

Number of operational Tier 1 and 2 process safety events

The number of Tier 1 and 2 operational process safety events increased from 121 in 2018 to 130 in 2019 (see Safety performance).

Priorities in 2020

• Continue to focus on asset integrity and quality of operational execution by, among other things, shifting attention to leading indicators to understand and measure success, embedding our Process Safety Fundamentals, and rolling out a group-wide asset management system.
• Continue to improve learning from process safety events with high potential impacts.

Goal 2019

Goal Zero extends to the environment with our goal of no operational spills.

Progress in 2019

Volume of operational spills in ‘000 tonnes

The number of operational spills fell from 93 in 2018 to 70 in 2019. The volume of operational spills of oil and oil products in 2019 was 0.2 thousand tonnes, a decrease from 0.9 thousand tonnes in 2018 (see Environmental performance).

Priorities in 2020

• Continue to learn from incidents with spills to improve the reliability of our facilities and further reduce the number and volume of operational spills.
• Continue to work with the oil and gas industry to further develop effective oil spill response capacities.

Goal 2019

Reduce flaring in our Upstream business.

Our policy is to reduce flaring and venting to as low a level as is reasonably practical.

We are a signatory of the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative.

Progress in 2019

Upstream flaring: million tonnes CO₂ equivalent [A]

[A] Includes Upstream and Integrated Gas.

Our upstream flaring increased to 5.9 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2019 from 5.2 million tonnes in 2018 (see Flaring).

Priorities in 2020

• Continue to link staff bonuses to the management of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Further embed the guiding principles for reducing methane emissions in the gas industry, which Shell and seven other energy companies signed in November 2017.
• Continue to focus on maintenance measures to enhance the reliability of our equipment and reduce emissions through leaks.

Goal 2019

Upstream and Integrated Gas GHG intensity ≤ 0.168

For our Upstream and Integrated Gas facilities, achieve a GHG intensity of 0.168 tonnes or below of CO₂ equivalent per tonne of hydrocarbon production available for sale.

Progress in 2019

Upstream and Integrated Gas: tonnes CO₂e per tonne of hydrocarbon production available for sale

Our Upstream and Integrated Gas GHG intensity was 0.168 tonnes CO₂ equivalent per tonne of hydrocarbon production available for sale in 2019 compared with 0.158 in 2018.

Priorities in 2020

• Continue to link staff bonuses to the management of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Further embed the guiding principles for reducing methane emissions across the natural gas value chain, which Shell and seven other energy companies signed in November 2017.
• Continue to focus on maintenance measures to enhance the reliability of our equipment and reduce emissions through leaks.

Goal 2019

Refinery GHG intensity ≤ 1.06

For our refineries, reduce GHG intensity to 1.06 tonnes or below of CO₂ equivalent per Solomon’s Utilised Equivalent Distillation Capacity (UEDC).

Progress in 2019

Refineries: tonnes CO₂e per Solomon’s UEDC

Refinery GHG intensity in 2019 was 1.06 tonnes CO₂e per UEDC compared with 1.05 in 2018.

Priorities in 2020

• Continue to link staff bonuses to the management of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Continue to focus on maintenance measures to enhance the reliability of our equipment and reduce emissions through leaks.

Goal 2019

Chemicals GHG intensity ≤ 1.00

For our chemical plants, reduce GHG intensity to 1.00 tonnes or below of CO₂ equivalent per tonne of high-value petrochemicals produced. 

Progress in 2019

Chemicals: tonnes CO₂e per tonne of petrochemicals produced

Chemical GHG intensity was 1.04 tonnes CO₂ equivalent per tonne of high-value petrochemicals produced in 2019 compared with 0.96 in 2018.

Priorities in 2020

• Continue to link staff bonuses to the management of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Continue to focus on maintenance measures to enhance the reliability of our equipment and reduce emissions through leaks.

Goal 2019

Effective community feedback.

• Enhance our online community feedback tool aiming to assess feedback effectively and respond quickly to concerns, based on the improvement areas identified in 2018.
• Identify further improvement opportunities for our community feedback mechanism (CFM) based on a self-check exercise.

Progress in 2019

• Our online community feedback tool was developed after completing pilot tests at several sites. The new tool provides fast and mobile access for employees engaging with communities to help resolve issues quickly.
• Based on an annual social performance assessment, we identified 31 sites in need of further assessment of the effectiveness of CFMs. For these assessments, we used a checklist informed by the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. Twenty-three sites implemented CFMs well, with clear procedures, dedicated employee focal points and leadership oversight, and with feedback that was well understood and addressed. For the other eight sites, we developed improvement plans primarily to ensure more effective standardisation for community feedback across sites.

Priorities in 2020

• Introduce the new online community feedback tool to reduce the workload for Shell employees and improve tracking and reporting of feedback.
• Implement improvement plans at priority CFM sites to enable a proactive approach.