Shell strategic partnership
Corporations increasingly need to become a part of sustainable development if they are to maintain and develop their business in tomorrow’s global society. Living Earth works in partnership to achieve this on the ground, as exemplified in our work with Shell International.
The relationship between Shell International and Living Earth began almost 16 years ago when Living Earth approached Shell International to discuss the environmental impact of its work in Venezuela. Shell’s openness to dialogue enabled a relationship to develop between individuals in the organisations, which has evolved into a partnership.
Since the early 1990s Living Earth and Shell have worked together on projects in nine countries spanning three continents. Living Earth and Shell are currently collaborating in Nigeria, Northeast Russia and Alaska. This global relationship has allowed Living Earth to magnify its positive impact on communities and the environment, and has resulted in genuine business benefits for Shell.
This relationship has resulted in genuine collaboration, impacting both sides. Living Earth’s Roger Hammond was for example a member of the External Review Committee and as such was invited to assess and report on the the content and the process of producing the Shell Sustainability Report in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Published articles exploring Living Earth’s strategic partnership with Shell
The journal of Business and Ethics published an article in 2010 considering the relationship between Shell and Living Earth as an example of transformational community engagement:
The MDG review, an independent publication that was circulated at the high-level UN summit on the Millennium Development Goals, published an article in 2008 discussing the relationship between Shell and Living Earth. The relationship was assessed as a form of cross-sector partnership aimed at tackling development goals:
Global partnerships and the MDGs
In 2006 a detailed study outlining the partnership between Living Earth and Shell was included in the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) publication:
The Development of a Strategic Relationship
An International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC) publication ‘NGOs Engaging with business – A world of difference and a difference to the world‘, published in 2000, takes a closer look at Living Earth’s partnership work with Shell in Nigeria: