Calgary, AB – Shell is the first retailer in Canada that will offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from consumers’ fuel purchases at its service stations across the nation.
From November 12 – December 30, 2020 customers who pay for fuel through Shell EasyPay™ in the Shell app can opt into the Drive Carbon Neutral program at no extra cost. Beyond December 31, 2020, Shell will still be offering the ability to opt into the program by contributing two cents per litre.
“Our customers have told us they want more ways to reduce their CO2 emissions and make a difference, but they don’t always know what actions to take,” said Andrea Brecka, General Manager Retail, Shell Canada. “Our Drive Carbon Neutral program is designed to help make it simpler for Shell customers to address their carbon footprint today, by offsetting their fuel purchases.”
The CO2 emissions generated by participating drivers – along with what’s used from the extraction, refining and distribution of the fuel – will be offset by purchasing independently-verified carbon credits created from Canadian and international projects focused on protecting or restoring natural landscapes. Shell Canada has already sourced some credits from the Darkwoods Forest Carbon Project, an initiative of the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Working to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, Shell is investing in nature and nature-based solutions that protect, transform, or restore lands such as forests, grasslands and wetlands.
“Our customers expect us to do more to help with the transition to a low-carbon world,” added Brecka. “Diversifying into lower-carbon energy and fuel options, and investing in nature-based credits to help offset emissions that are unavoidable, are ways we can better serve our customers’ needs.”
Announced alongside the Drive Carbon Neutral program, Shell is investing in a reforestation project in collaboration with Indigenous communities in B.C., that has the potential to produce carbon credits in the future. Working with Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation, a Tŝilhqot’in forestry company, an estimated 840,000 native tree species will be planted in fire-impacted areas that have not been able to regenerate on their own.
The introduction of the Drive Carbon Neutral program in Canada follows other programs that Shell offers to drivers around the world, including Austria, Germany, the UK, Denmark and The Netherlands. For more information on the Drive Carbon Neutral program, visit www.shell.ca/CO2Neutral
