1. Foundation of Shell: a store, shells and... oil!

Royal Dutch Shell is one of the world's largest companies in the energy and petrochemical industry. The company was founded in 1907, but its history goes far back to 1833, when the Samuel family opened a small store in London, selling a variety of things decorated with seashells, shipped from the Far East. At the same time, the owner decided to supply oil together with the shells, the demand for which was growing rapidly at that time. This is why the company is called "Shell".

The father's business was continued by his sons, who started shipping oil-product products all over the world starting from 1878. In order to be able to compete with their main competitor – the American company Standard Oil – Shell merged with the Dutch company Royal Dutch with headquarters in London and the Hague, on April 23, 1907. Since then, it has been the official birthday of Royal Dutch Shell.

Shell is an international energy company with expertise in the exploration, production, refining and marketing of oil and natural gas, and the manufacturing and marketing of chemicals. We have over 80,000 employees in more than 70 countries. We use advanced technologies and take an innovative approach to help build a sustainable energy future.

2. Shell in Ukraine: development and success

Shell Retail entered the Ukrainian market in 2007. Today, the network of Shell-branded petrol stations in Ukraine is part of the Central and Eastern Europe cluster Shell Downstream.

Currently, the network includes 132 stations in 20 regions of Ukraine, offering employment to around 1500 people.

The company sells high-quality oil products, including Shell V-Power fuel, diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), as well as a wide range of related products, delicious food and beverages. Shell also

caters to t electric car drivers, as the popularity of this vehicle is growing rapidly. In 2019, Shell installed four high-performance electric charging modules at its petrol stations in Ukraine.

3. Gender equality, inclusiveness and diversity are the cornerstones of Shell's corporate culture

Safety and social responsibility are key principles of Shell's activity. The core values that the company has been following for almost two hundred years are honesty, integrity and respect for people. That is why the company strives to involve and develop human potential irrespective of gender, ethnicity, etc. This helps to create a corporate culture where everyone feels respected and valued.

"There are no prejudices about gender or age of future employees here at Shell. Remuneration is based according to the results of work, not on the basis of gender. We provide equal opportunities for women and men to express themselves in a very specific energy retail business, adhering to our Diversity and Inclusion policy. This culture of openness, equality and care for employees promotes better interaction within the team," says Svitlana Tyshchenko, HR director

4. The brand has a long history too!

The yellow and red seashell is one of the most recognizable logos of energy business companies. Initially, the logo was created in black and white: this design was registered in 1900. One of the assumptions as to why the logo was turned into yellow and red is that these colors were used in marine alarms.

In 1930, the Shell logo was named Pecten (from the Latin "comb"), and it started to be placed on signs and vehicles. And in 1948 this name of the logo became official. In the early 1990s, warmer shades of yellow and red were used in the image in order to soften the brand's perception and make it more attractive. These color tones were preserved in the modern logo.

In 2015, the Sound of Shell logo and orchestral score appeared, a sound that quickly became as recognizable as the Pecten logo for customers.

5. Social responsibility and sustainable development at Shell

As a socially responsible company, at the very beginning of the quarantine Shell donated over 5,000 protective masks for two hospitals in the capital. And in May 2020, in cooperation with the Charitable Foundation Lifelover, it purchased 2,550 food packages for the elderly.

It is estimated that Shell's total global contribution to overcoming the pandemic and its effects in the world exceeds $30 million.

The company also took care of its employees and customers: taking into account the worldwide experience of the Shell Group of Companies in fighting the spread of COVID-19, it was the first in Ukraine to equip its entire network of petrol stations with plexiglass protective screens.

Sustainable development is an integral part of Shell's business activity.

Shell aims to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, in step with society and our customers. We will seek to achieve this in three ways.

First, we aim to be net-zero emissions from making our products.

Second, we seek to reduce the carbon intensity of the products we sell. This will mean selling more hydrogen, more biofuels, more renewable electricity.

Finally, we, as a business that supplies energy, will work with sectors which use energy... like aviation, heavy freight and shipping. We will help them find their own path to net-zero emissions.

Becoming a net-zero emissions energy business is a huge task. The business plans we have today will not get us there. So, our plans must change over time, as society and our customers also change.

Today, the company has identified three UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are extremely important for our operations on international and local levels (SDG 13: To combat climate change; SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth; SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy).

According to Peter Kerekgyarto, General Director of Shell Retail Ukraine, the company has already started developing a sustainable development plan in line with the aims and expectations of the global concern.

"Sustainability aspiration at Shell means providing more and cleaner energy solutions to World’s continuously increasing energy demand.

In Ukraine, we have already started working on our local sustainable development plan which has three major pillars:

1. Running a safe, efficient, responsible business where we operate;
2. Helping our customers with cleaner services and energy products;
3. Contributing to the wider society and local communities by driving positive changes during energy transition," says Peter Kerekgyarto.

Source: https://tsn.ua/special-projects/shell/