Powering Progress in Supply Chain
Our Supply Chain, Contracting & Procurement division is accountable for working with all of Shell’s suppliers to deliver the non-hydrocarbon goods, services, marine, air and road logistics needed by Shell’s diverse global businesses and assets.
We are committed to building strong relationships with our suppliers, and aligning our partnerships with Shell’s General Business Principles, Code of Ethics, and Supplier Principles which promote sustainability and economic, environmental, and social responsibility.
Our global reach gives us a competitive advantage and enables us to mitigate supply chain disruption risks, while driving sustainable returns. We work with high levels of process efficiency, standardisation, and collaboration, as well as availability across all time zones and the ability to support local or regional disruptions with flexibility.
Suppliers’ Corner
Learn more about the steps to becoming a Shell supplier and find other documents and resources that support your supplier journey.
Expectations of our suppliers
Supplier Principles
At Shell, we believe in honesty, integrity and respect for people and we aim to work with suppliers that behave in an economically, environmentally and socially responsible manner. That is why we have established the Supplier Principles, which describe our expectations for business integrity, health, safety, security, environment and social performance, and labour and human rights.
Training is available for our staff as well as for our suppliers on Shell's Code of Conduct and we expect all suppliers to understand and implement the Supplier Principles in their supply chains for work done for Shell.
Our Shell Supplier Requirements Explained page provides additional information regarding our policies and due diligence mechanisms for:
- Business integrity;
- Ethics and compliance;
- Assessing financial risk;
- Health, safety, security, environment and social performance;
- Worker welfare, labour and human rights.
Visit our Supplier Principles page for more information about our expectations.
Supplier diversity
We believe in the added value that supplier diversity brings to the supply chain and work with a mix of global and local suppliers. This not only helps us to meet our niche needs and drive innovation for the energy transition but also provides new business opportunities for both local and global suppliers.
We’re committed to expanding our supplier diversity and local content initiatives and continue to participate in external partnerships to collaborate, develop, and mentor diverse suppliers.
Respecting human rights and promoting worker welfare
Respect for human rights is fundamental to Shell’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people. An integral part of this is and in our collaborations with contractors. We are committed to respecting human rights as set out in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Our approach is informed by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
We respect worker rights and promote welfare, enabling better performance through care, reflecting our core values and commitment to safety. When people feel cared for, they perform at their best.
Our commitment to Worker Welfare is based on the Building Responsibly principles, focusing on the well-being of supplier staff on Shell sites and dedicated supplier staff on non-Shell sites, where we can influence safety, working conditions, and labour rights. We integrate these principles into our SEAM standard on Workplace Health, Safety, and Security, ensuring fair and accessible remediation, safe working conditions, clear policies on working hours and minimum wage, and decent living conditions for workers.
We understand the importance of working with suppliers and contractors who share our values and contribute to sustainable development. Together, we strive to raise the bar for Worker Welfare through associations like Building Responsibly and contractor forums, impacting workers globally. By participating in cross-industry collaborations, we continuously learn and improve our approach to human rights and Worker Welfare.
Training and risk management
Dependent on the scope of work and risks assumed by a contractor on Shell's behalf, a variety of training opportunities are made available on a range of topics, such as safety and human rights. This includes Life-Saving Rules, Health and Wellbeing, IPIECA’s human rights training module and SAP Ariba training. As safety is an uncompromising focus for us, certain training modules require everyone who works for us to have knowledge of them.
We understand that some areas of our supply chain may pose a higher risk for human and labour rights violations specifically and we aim to regularly evaluate the risk related to human rights and worker welfare to identify and mitigate any potential issues of modern slavery in our supply chain. For suppliers who have been identified as having an elevated risk from a labour rights/worker welfare perspective, we require the development of a worker welfare plan to ensure compliance with the principles of Building Responsibly. The plan must address, among others, ethical recruitment practices and the elimination of forced labour.
To further support the implementation of worker welfare plans, we provide relevant resources like our worker welfare information pack (PDF), which aims to support contractors and suppliers to better understand worker welfare risks and Shell’s expectations in managing these risks.
Digital transformation in supply chain operations
We are embracing digital transformation in our supply chain operations and are using digital tools to improve collaboration and delivery with our suppliers and bring them along on the digital journey. Examples of these digital tools include:
SAP Ariba
Our standard Shell-wide purchasing platform SAP Ariba, to help create global spend transparency and drive data and discipline, and our e-sourcing platform (supported by tools such as DocuSign for electronic signatures), to facilitate communication and contracting between Shell vendors.
Automation
Artificial intelligence (AI) and data compliance and controls to automate operations and increase our efficiency.
Relevant information for Shell suppliers
Worker Welfare Information Pack (PDF)
Creating a better understanding of worker welfare risks and outlining Shell’s expectations for managing these risks by contractors and suppliers.
California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (PDF)
California Disclosures related to efforts to eliminate slavery and human trafficking from retail and manufacturing company supply chains.
Human rights
Respect for human rights is fundamental to Shell’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people. We want to make a positive impact on society.
