Royal Dutch Shell was formed in 1907, although our history can be traced back to the first half of the 19th century.
Our headquarters are in The Hague, the Netherlands, and our Chief Executive Officer is Ben van Beurden. The parent company of the Shell group is Royal Dutch Shell plc, which is incorporated in England and Wales.
Our strategy is to strengthen our position as a leading energy company by providing oil and gas and low-carbon energy as the world’s energy system changes. Safety and social responsibility are fundamental to our business approach.
Our purpose
Shell’s purpose is to power progress together with more and cleaner energy solutions. We believe that rising standards of living for a growing global population are likely to continue to drive demand for energy, including oil and gas, for years to come. At the same time, technology changes and the need to tackle climate change means there is a transition underway to a lower-carbon, multisource energy system.
Against this backdrop, we have the following strategic ambitions:
- to provide a world-class investment case. This involves growing free cash flow and increasing shareholder returns, all built upon a strong financial framework and resilient portfolio;
- to thrive in the energy transition by responding to society’s desire for more and cleaner, convenient and competitive energy; and
- to sustain a strong societal licence to operate and make a positive contribution to society through our activities.
Our ability to achieve our strategic ambitions depends on how we respond to competitive forces. We continuously assess the external environment – the markets as well as the underlying economic, political, social and environmental drivers that shape them – to evaluate changes in competitive forces and business models.
We continuously seek to improve our operating performance, and maximise sustainable free cash flow, with an emphasis on health, safety, security, environment and asset performance, as well as adhering to our ethics and compliance principles.
Our people
Our people are essential to the successful delivery of the Shell strategy and to sustaining business performance over the long term. Performing competitively in the evolving energy landscape requires competent and empowered people working safely together across Shell.
We believe that diverse teams led by inclusive leaders deliver better safety and business performance.
OUR VALUES
Shell’s core values are honesty, integrity and respect for people. The Shell General Business Principles, Code of Conduct, and Code of Ethics help everyone at Shell act in line with these values and comply with relevant laws and regulations. We also strive to maintain a diverse and inclusive culture within our company.
Shell General Business Principles
As a global energy company operating in a challenging world, we set high standards of performance and ethical behaviours. We are judged by how we act and how we live up to our core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people. Our Business Principles are based on these. They promote trust, openness, teamwork and professionalism, as well as pride in what we do and how we conduct business.
We were one of the first global companies to state and share our beliefs when we published our General Business Principles in 1976. As part of these principles, we commit to contribute to sustainable development, balancing short and long-term interests and integrating economic, environmental and social considerations into our decision-making.
All Shell employees and contractors, and those at joint ventures we operate, are expected to understand and continually behave in line with our Business Principles. We expect suppliers, and joint ventures that we do not operate, to apply equivalent principles.
