The Work Ahead...
...Our future must be one in which Shell companies
excel in environmental performance; one in which
we actively support governments in developing sensible
policies to deal with environmental problems;
and one in which we are open about our policies and
practices and performance. . . .
- L.C. van Wachem, Royal Dutch Shell,
1990 letter to Shell company CEOs
Royal Dutch Shell is a company of the future, say the promises,
the rhetoric, and the full-page advertisements. If that is the case, this
top-tier multinational will have no problem addressing the challenges
that lie ahead; in transforming itself from an old fossil-fuel giant into a
new, renewable energy-based business. The reasons for doing this
are all too clear - the fossil fire, for all its riches and benefit, is uncontrollable
and unmanageable. To this day still, neither Shell, BP,
ExxonMobil, or any other commercial or government entity is able to
manage it. The risks and costs are still here: of the sudden, catastrophic,
at-any-moment variety, or of the more insinuating, over-the-decades
and slow-building kind. Many are already loosed in the world,
set as gases in the atmosphere to warm wind and planet for decades,
or woven as persistent chemical poisons into the web of life. An uncoupling
from this continuing damage is urgently needed. A safer,
cleaner kind of energy and energy industry is what the world is calling
for. Shell can become a new kind of corporation that changes the
paradigm. Tangible and dramatic progress must occur in moving away
from fossil fuel development and towards renewable energy. Shell is
moving in that direction with relatively token steps. It is capable of
much, much more. True, getting to the renewable future will take time,
even if Shell were to embrace it full force. In the interim, as the bridge
between fossil fuels and renewable energy is crossed, the everyday
"slings and arrows" of hydrocarbon reality will have to be ended or
fixed - whether flaring gas in Nigeria or leaky refineries in Louisiana.
Here, there are a range of changes and improvements Shell can make
immediately - changes in operations, improvements in on-the-ground
hardware, new technology, and clarified business principles. Such
changes can make a difference for people and planet now - not ten
years from now. Some of these are offered below, and are suggestive
rather than all inclusive. The key is for Shell to embrace a process of
change and transition that will include its stakeholders as full partners.
For a copy of the book send e-mail to info@shellfacts.com
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