Since 1997, SustainAbility has been a multi-faceted advisor to Royal Dutch Shell. Initially retained to help create and guide the vision, content and process behind Shell’s groundbreaking first sustainability report Profit and Principles – does there have to be a choice? issued in 1998 after Shell’s reputation and internal morale had suffered as a result of Brent Spar and human rights issues in Nigeria, SustainAbility now has engaged different Shell people and divisions on a range of sustainability issues over more than a decade. In relation to transparency and reporting, we have benchmarked, critiqued and improved nearly every Shell Report. Additionally, since 2005 we have led the design and facilitation of Shell’s External Review Committee, a unique panel of expert, senior-level stakeholders capable of engaging Shell leadership up to the Chief Executive and Board on key accountability issues, and we have advised Shell on ways to improve sustainability performance and communication overall. SustainAbility has counseled Shell on a further range of issues including:

• Access to energy;
• Shell’s Three Hard Truths and the Scramble & Blueprints energy scenarios
• Alberta Oil Sands development and the implications of high-carbon fuels generally; and,
• Innovative demand management strategies.

In the complex world of energy, our relationship with Shell has been purposely challenging on both sides, with the tensions caused by honest differences in points of view resulting in some of the most concrete gains. SustainAbility’s insights and skills have helped Shell navigate the shifting landscape of society’s expectations of private sector sustainability performance; at the same time, our own beliefs and frameworks have been tested and strengthened through our engagement with the many serious, inquiring and committed Shell team members alongside whom we have worked.