
Delivering Carbon Neutral¹ Solutions to Our Customers
Shell has a target to become a net-zero carbon emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, in step with society. As the biggest supplier of lubricants in the world, Shell Lubricants has a large part to play in delivering this.2
Shell provides approximately five billion litres of finished lubricants annually to customers across the world. From aviation to power generation, marine to mining, both consumer and commercial automotive industries, these lubricants help to keep the world moving by ensuring machinery can operate consistently and efficiently at the peak of its performance.
But behind this performance, there is an ongoing need to balance increased operational output with reduced environmental impact. And as demands evolve, expectations change too. Customers and consumers alike now expect brands to offer sustainable solutions that make it easier for them to make sustainable choices.
Shell Lubricants Carbon Neutral
Shell Carbon Neutral_EU_HERO_4th_cut_v1_GM_GC6_v3_1
Duration: 2:03 minutes
Description:
A video montage of slides and texts explaining how Shell is going green.
Shell Carbon Neutral_EU_HERO_4th_cut_v1_GM_GC6_v3_1 transcript
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A red car is driving along a dirt road through a big field.
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We thrive on challenges
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Aerial view of the car driving forward.
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and solving big problems
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A white truck is driving down a road with green grass and trees on both sides.
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To lead the industry and power progress together
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Aerial view of the truck driving forward.
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A view of wind turbines in an open sea. A total of six wind turbines are visible. The sky has a pink hue.
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That’s why we aim to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050,
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A man is filling up the car tank. Only his hand is visible.
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or sooner
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A shot of a Shell petrol pump. We can read hydrogen on the fueling pump.
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An aerial shot of a combine harvester harvesting crops.
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A front view of a white truck driving along a road, headlights shining. It is dusk. There’s grass surrounding the road.
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And lubricants play a vital role
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A digger is seen in the foreground digging and an oil tank is in the background. The sky is dark and cloudy with some light shining through.
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A camera view from under the truck which slowly pans out to show outside of the truck which is carrying several containers. The sun is rising in the distance.
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They keep engines and machinery moving efficiently
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A red truck is driving along a curvy road, coming around the side of a cliff on a coastline.
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We see a middle-aged man driving. He has a short beard and is wearing a sweater. A young girl is in the back seat. He looks up in the rearview mirror at her, smiling.
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While allowing us to reduce our impact
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Two hands on the driving wheel. Left hand has a wedding ring. The hands belong to the man we saw earlier.
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A man is holding his son, smiling and pointing at the mountains. The sun is shining.
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To ensure we meet our goals we must:
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Aerial view of a road surrounded by green trees. A big white truck is running down it. We see animated arrows pointing forward.
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Reduce the CO2 intensity of our own products
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A big bridge over the sea with many cars and trucks moving on it. Water is blue.
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Help our customers manage their sustainability needs
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Shell is working hard
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A man wearing glasses and a white shirt with the shell logo is standing in focus and speaking to the camera.
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to avoid and reduce the emissions of every litre of lubricants we make.
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Parminder Kohli
Vice President, Lubricants Europe, Russia and Africa
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A white blending plant can be seen. The sky is blue and clear.
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Since 2016
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we have reduced
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the carbon intensity
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A hand wearing a black glove can be seen putting a black tube into a yellow barrel.
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of our lubricants manufacturing by 30%.
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A worker is walking away, shot from behind, he is wearing a blue hard helmet and a blue jumpsuit.
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Two close up shots of different parts of the electricity poles.
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And over 50% of the electricity
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A wide lens view of a field full of solar panels.
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used in our blending plants
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An aerial view of a white wind turbine turning in the middle of the ocean.
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now come from renewable sources.
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We are going to keep improving and while we do that, we are also going to offset our remaining emissions
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A silver bottle pouring lubricant into a cup. We can see it flowing.
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using Shell's nature-based solutions.
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Our Carbon Neutral Lubricants take us one small step closer
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A red car is heading down a curvy, hilly road.
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We aim to offset the annual emissions of more than 60 million litres
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A white truck drives over a bridge. The sun is shining over fields in the background.
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Compensating for around 280,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year
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Close-up shot of a woman’s face looking out onto a green mountain.
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A busy metropolis. There are many roads crossing each other and there are many cars. Some are moving and some are still.
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That's the same as taking approximately 130,000 cars off the road for one year
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A shot of a busy city, buildings and traffic moving and a river can be seen.
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Our customers have been very clear with us.
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Parminder Kohli is speaking to the camera.
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They want great fuel efficiency with uncompromised engine performance and with the lowest possible impact on the climate.
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An aerial shot of a large forest with sun rays beaming down.
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Today, we are delivering on that
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An underwater shot of waves in the ocean. The water is very blue and sunlight can be seen above.
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with the largest carbon neutral
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A beautiful view of the field with a dandelion in focus. Sun is blurred. Dandelion's seeds are blown in the wind.
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programme in the lubricants industry.
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A view of the red car driving down the road from in front and above. There are trees on either side of the road.
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Another significant step
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In leading the industry towards a more sustainable future
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A close-up shot of a gold car driving
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A young girl with brown hair and wearing a green shirt is driving the car, she is smiling and her hair is blowing in the wind.
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A white truck is driving down the highway.
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One that helps our customers meet their own needs
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Camera pans in to the side of the truck with a close-up shot.
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Whilst maximising performance
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A man is driving the truck. He has short brown hair and is wearing a t-shirt. He is smiling and the sun is beaming through the window.
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Now that’s a challenge
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A man is driving a car and we can see the woman in the passenger seat. She is smiling and the wind is blowing.
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we can all get behind
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Shot of a woman smiling in the rearview mirror.
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A view of a red car driving down the road from behind. There are trees in the background.
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A young girl is sitting in the backseat of a car looking out, smiling. We see a reflection of Shell's logo from a petrol pump on the car's window.
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Shell logo above clouds.
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© Shell International Limited 2020
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Carbon Neutral1 Lubricants by Shell
We know our customers are increasingly in need of more sustainable solutions. So, to meet this growing industry demand, Shell is exploring a range of initiatives that seek to avoid, reduce and offset emissions while helping consumers and customers to find solutions that benefit both their operational and sustainability goals.
The latest step in this journey is the launch of our extended range of carbon neutral lubricants1. As well as helping to avoid or reduce emissions through more sustainable packaging material choices and increased operational efficiencies, these products are now carbon neutral thanks to Shell’s global portfolio of nature-based carbon credits.
They span a number of sectors, including:
- Premium passenger car motor oil
- Heavy duty diesel engine oil
- Industrial portfolios
The initiative is the largest and most significant carbon neutral programme in the lubricants industry today, aiming to offset the CO2e3 emissions of more than 200 million litres of high-quality lubricants.4
For Europe, this includes compensating for over 60 million litres, of advanced synthetic lubricants, the equivalent of taking 130,000 cars of the road and aiming to compensate for around 280,000 tonnes of CO2e per year4.
This represents a key milestone in our ongoing commitment to deliver on two key, strategic initiatives:
1. Reducing the CO2e intensity of our products
This is achieved through:
- Avoiding emissions by:
- Embedding circular economy thinking at the heart of our business
Shell will use more recycled content in our plastic bottles and in Europe, we are working on plans to prove the feasibility of using recycled resin in our bottles. We have reduced our packaging carbon footprint by 4% compared to 2016, aiming to embed a minimum of 40 per cent Post Consumer Resin in our entire bottle portfolio by 2021. We are also moving some of our larger plastic packaging, for example pails, to contain recycled resin.
- Designing products with reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) and less packaging
We are exploring different packaging concepts that are more sustainable (i.e. different materials or different supply chain models). For example, Shell’s Ecobox is an alternative to traditional plastic packaging for motor oil for light-duty vehicles, which can reduce plastic usage in the packaging by more than 80% and CO2e emissions by more than 60%5.
- Improving the energy efficiency of our facilities
We have reduced the carbon intensity of our lubricants manufacturing operations by over 30% since 2016.6
Energy monitoring systems (EMS) and LED lighting have been installed at all our facilities which allow us to improve the energy efficiency of our sites. For example, the EMS pilot at the Tianjin plant helped to achieve an 8.5% reduction in electricity use between 2017 to 2018.
- Embedding circular economy thinking at the heart of our business

Reducing the CO₂e
- Increasing our use of renewable energy
Over 50% of electricity used in our Shell Lubricant Blending Plants now comes from renewable sources, including renewable electricity contracts and we plan to increase this amount through expansion of solar installations in the rest of our Shell facilities. Combined, these panels generate more than 7,500 MWh of electricity annually, and can result in the avoidance of GHG emissions of approximately 4,500 tonnes on a CO2e basis per year.
- Reducing the CO2e emissions of our supply chain
Shell has implemented LNG trucks in its fleet, which has a lower CO2e impact than traditional trucks. In addition, we have optimised our transport routes and introduced intermodal routes which has resulted in the avoidance of about 4,000 metric tonnes of CO2 per year.

Protecting and restoring natural ecosystems
- Offsetting emissions by
- Compensating for CO2e emissions from the life cycle of our products Life cycle of lubricants covers: the raw material extraction, transport, production, distribution, usage and end-of-life.
- Using globally diverse, externally verified, and high-quality, nature-based carbon credits.
- Each carbon credit represents the avoidance or removal of GHG equivalent to one tonne of CO2e.
Protecting and restoring natural ecosystems.
Shell Lubricants support internationally accredited, carbon offsetting projects such as the Katingan Mentaya project in Indonesia or the Qinghai Afforestation Project in China. They naturally remove CO2 from the atmosphere every year while also improving biodiversity, protecting endangered species and supporting local communities.
2. Helping customers to manage their sustainability needs
This is achieved through providing high-quality products and leading-edge technology that can:
- Reduce friction, wear and tear
- Extend the life of engines and machinery
- Increase fuel economy, oil-drain interval and energy efficiency
- Reduce the amount of resources required, waste produced, and emissions emitted.
Low viscosity lubricants can increase fuel economy by up to 3%7 and increase energy efficiency in industrial applications by up to 4%8, while many of our industrial lubricants deliver significant ODI benefits such as reduced maintenance needs and fewer parts replacement. For example, Shell Mysella S7 N, our latest generation natural gas engine oil, more than doubles the previous industry typical oil drain for gas engine oils.
As we all move towards a lower-carbon future, combining these two aims will help to provide customers across the globe with more and cleaner energy solutions. And this is sustainability without compromise, as Shell Lubricants is dedicated to enabling customers to retain the best in operational performance while contributing to lower emissions, less waste and fewer natural resource usage.
LEGAL DISCLAIMERS:
1 “Carbon neutral” indicates that Shell has engaged in a transaction where an amount of CO2 equivalent to the CO2e amount associated with the raw material extraction, transport, production, distribution, usage and end-of-life of the Lubricants has been avoided as emissions through the protection of natural ecosystems or removed from the atmosphere through a nature-based process. CO2e (CO2 equivalent) refers to CO2, CH4, N2O.
3 CO2e (CO2 equivalent) refers to CO2, CH4, N2O.
4 The CO2e lifecycle emissions of this product have been offset with verified Nature-Based Carbon Credits
5 *over 80% plastic reduction in box liner vs. 5 individual 4L Shell Helix bottles.
6 Own operations involved in manufacturing of lubricants and based on Shell Internal Reporting
7 Based on ACEA M111 fuel economy results compared with the industry reference oil
8 Shell Tellus S4 VE can help save up to 4.4% of the energy per hour in a plastic injection moulding machine (Shell and third-party field trial)
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