About our data

We began reporting voluntarily on our environmental, safety and social performance with the first Shell Report in 1997. We support transparency and share information and data in this report and on www.shell.com.

There are inherent limitations to the accuracy of environmental and social data. We recognise that our data will be affected by these limitations, so we continue to improve data integrity by strengthening our internal controls.

We provide all non-financial data in this report on a 100% basis for companies and joint ventures where we are the operator. Environmental data pertain to direct Shell operations unless otherwise stated. We report in this way, in line with industry practice, because these are the data we can directly manage and affect through operational improvements. We refer to the number of people employed or contracted on a full-time equivalent basis.

Operations acquired or divested during 2019 are included only for the period in which we operated these assets. Other data are collected from external sources, employee surveys and other internal sources as indicated. Data marked in the social data table come from an internal survey completed by the senior Shell representative in each country. The accuracy of environmental and social data may be lower than that of data obtained through our financial systems.

We only include data in this report for 2019 that were confirmed by the end of March 2020. If incidents are reclassified or confirmed, or if significant data changes occur after preparation of this report, they will be updated in the following year’s publication.

Assurance

We have clear standards and reporting requirements for our health, safety, security, environment and social performance (HSSE & SP) data.

Shell facilities are required to adopt these standards, which define management roles and responsibilities, the scope of data at facilities and how data are calculated and collected. These standards are part of our HSSE & SP Control Framework.

To ensure we provide accurate information, our assurance process of HSSE & SP data is also a key element of the HSSE & SP Control Framework. The process flows from the facility all the way up to group level. Some examples of the assurance mechanisms in this process are:

• self-assessments at the facility level;
• internal audits at all levels of Shell;
• quarterly reviews and assessments of the data at all levels;
• an annual series of meetings between leaders at group level and senior business managers to discuss outcomes and reporting parameters; and
• formal sign-off by Shell’s senior country leaders.

The Report Review Panel of independent experts helps make sure our reporting is balanced, relevant and responsive to stakeholders’ interests.

Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Ltd has provided limited assurance of our direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions data for 2019. Limited assurance means nothing has come to the auditor’s attention that would indicate that the greenhouse gas data and information as presented in the Greenhouse Gas Assertion were not materially correct. The assurance statements are available at www.shell.com.

Conversions into US and Canadian dollars are based on the average exchange rates for 2019.