IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN and Shell have been working together on energy and biodiversity issues since 2000.

As the 2007 to 2012 agreement has now drawn to a close and based on the review of the Shell relationship conducted in 2012, a new Way Forward with Shell was presented to IUCN council members earlier this year. However, Council members requested the Shell relationship to be tabled at the next face-to-face IUCN Council meeting in November 2013 to better understand the implications for IUCN and its alignment with the Business Engagement Strategy and IUCN One Programme. Consequently, all existing ongoing projects are implemented according to the agreed workplans. Any new bilateral initiatives are put on hold until November 2013. The information below provides details on the 2007 to 2012 agreement and the ongoing work between Shell and IUCN.

In October 2007 the two organizations signed a 5-year collaborative agreement to foster closer collaboration on conservation-related work, at all levels and all over the world. The overall objectives of the agreement are to:

• Enhance the biodiversity conservation performance of Shell and its Affiliates
• Raise biodiversity performance standards in the energy sector and its supply chains
• Strengthen IUCN capacity for leadership in business and biodiversity.

The agreement commits IUCN and Shell to demonstrate leadership in both the business and conservation sectors, and use their combined comparative strengths to leverage positive changes for biodiversity conservation.

In June 2012 an end of term review on the 2007-2012 IUCN Shell agreement was undetaken. The review included lists of collaborative IUCN-Shell activities undertaken during the for the period 1999 to 2007 and 2007-2012

Based on the findings of the 2012 Review and the implementation of the new IUCN Business Engagement Strategy, the most recent areas of work between IUCN and Shell have focused on establishing multi-stakeholder dialogue platforms at landscape level to influence the wider sector and other actors in society. These include:

• Developing an initiative to assess conservation-related implementation and impacts of the Bonsucro standards for sugarcase-based ethanol producation in Brazil.
• Promoting and using a multi-lateral collaborative platform for developing a sustainable future and ecosystem-based management approach in the Arctic.  A recent visioning workshop involved Arctic Council representatives and other relevant actors active in the region, including IUCN Members.
• Developing institutional capacity of Iraqi authorities in collaboration with IUCN Members on the ground for appropriate conservation in oil and gas developments in the fragile ecosystems of the region.
• The establishment of the Niger Delta Independent Advisory Panel to provide science based recommendations for the remediation and rehabilitation of biodiversity and habitats of oil spill sites in the Niger Delta. This Panel was established in consultation with IUCN Members in Nigeria.
   

Why Shell?

Energy: an IUCN priority
As a large-footprint industry, the oil & gas sector is one of IUCN’s priorities for business engagement.

Engaging with the energy sector is also central to accelerating the development of sustainable energy, another of IUCN’s overarching priorities.

Shell: a growing commitment to biodiversity
While IUCN does not agree with everything Shell does, the company has nevertheless demonstrated a willingness to change its operations and engage with the wider energy sector in order to reduce potential impacts on biodiversity.

In 2001, Shell became the first oil & gas company to develop a biodiversity standard. Now implemented across the business, the standard requires the company to address biodiversity early in new projects and integrate it into impact assessments; consult with biodiversity experts; and develop biodiversity action plans (BAPs) at existing operations in areas of high biodiversity value.

The company has also engaged in structured dialogue and joint initiatives with IUCN since 2000, aimed at developing new biodiversity conservation standards and operational procedures. Highlights from this collaboration include:

• Shell declaring natural World Heritage sites as ‘no go’ areas in 2003 – the first and only oil & gas company to do so
   
• The Energy and Biodiversity Initiative (EBI), a joint industry/NGO initiative that produced a series of best practice guidelines and tools to improve the environmental performance of energy operations.
   
• The Building Biodiversity Business report, which identifies opportunities and mechanisms for market-based biodiversity conservation.
   
• An independent scientific review panel to evaluate the Sakhalin II project of the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company (a major Shell joint venture gas development project in Sakhalin, far Eastern Russia), in light of any potential impacts on the critically endangered western grey whales.

IUCN and Shell: an ongoing relationship
The current 5-year collaborative partnership agreement between Shell and IUCN represents the latest development in this long-standing relationship – and a continuation of IUCN’s strategy to influence the energy sector in places where we can effect change. It also represents a continuation of Shell’s strategy to collaborate with biodiversity experts in order to reduce its environmental impact and help conserve biodiversity.

Through this closer relationship, IUCN and Shell are exploring ways to upscale efforts and further integrate biodiversity in the energy business, as well as bring business skills and approaches to conservation.