Shell Oil Canada Limiteds environmental policy We would all like to live in a world without the types of pollution

but unless we stop using fossil fuel, this dream is impossible. Environmental programs have focused on the concerns of air, land and water quality. Until now, the quality of life that the environment supports has not been actively taken into consideration as a core measure of environmental health. Shell Oil Canadas environmental policy has been designed to take all of these factors into consideration. I am pleased to submit this report to the CEO of Pacific Environmental, Incorporated in response to its request of March 3. The purpose of this report is to investigate if Shell Oil Canada has a good enough environmental record to be on the list. The scope of this report is to show how well Shell Oil Canada Limited is doing on the commitments they have made. In this report, you will learn about Shell Oil Canada Limiteds progress in sustainable development and what they have accomplished.

Air, Land and Water Sustainable development is about balance. When developing projects like the Athabasca Oil Sands, Shell Oil Canada Limited has to integrate environmental considerations into the operations process. It is our responsibility to ensure that the net balance is positive over the long term. To win peoples trust in operations and growth plans, Shell Oil Canada Limited has to listen and deliver on their promise to preserve the environment. That is what sustainability is really about. Shell Oil Canada Limited is making progress in addressing environmental challenges. New technologies continue to be critical to the corporations efforts to reduce impacts on air, land and water. Shell Oil Canada Limited demonstrates environmentally responsibility through: Greenhouse gas emissions reduction, capture and storage. Shell has said the technology to capture the carbon from the upgrading process is well-known. So storage of the gas is now the major research focus. Shell Quest's plans call for first injecting small amounts of CO2, between 50 and 100 tonnes per year, and then ramping up to up to 1.2 million tonnes. (Cooper and Schmidt, 2009). Water. Shell Oil Canada minimizes fresh water use, increase recycle and non-potable water use. In 2008, Shell commissioned a $100 million tailings pilot plant at the Muskeg River mine in order to meet the new government guidelines. While the directive is technically challenging, Shell has invested substantially in tailings research, says Laurieanne Lynne, communications advisor, Corporate Shell Canada Limited. Engineering work started before the ERCB issued its tailings directive as part of Shells commitment to sustainable oil sands development. So far, the results of our efforts to create trafficable tailings have been encouraging... And while the tailings get drier and drier, Shell is also recycling water more diligently. At the Scotford Upgrader, effluent from a wastewater treatment plant is being reused, resulting in a 10 to 15 per cent reduction in its water intensity. The company is also exploring opportunities to implement a zero liquid discharge system.(Eisner, 2009).

Land. Shell Oil Canada demonstrates reclamation for tailing ponds. The company also talked about reclamation, the process of rebuilding the hills, forests, wetlands, and fens that are torn up as companies mine for bitumen. Shell takes a provision on its balance sheet for this process, booked as land it disturbed and reflecting the discounted value of the expected future costs. Shell expects to spend between three per cent and five per cent of operating cost on reclamation, which it considers before starting a project, the report said.(Tait, 2010).

Conclusion The purpose of the Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997 was to deal with climate change by legally binding the country to lower their 2008-2012 emissions to 5 per cent below 1990 levels. Canada agreed to lower its emissions by 6 per cent. The International Energy Agency estimates Canadas carbon dioxide emissions from energy use alone in 2010 will be 28 per cent higher than in 1990. In March 2008, the Canadian government released new climate change regulations that would force new oil sands projects to capture and store the bulk of their greenhouse gases. The plan imposes industry-wide 18% intensity reductions, followed by 2% reductions every year thereafter until 2020, although the regime would be reviewed in 2012. Companies that fail to meet their targets would face prosecution under the criminal code. Shell Oil Canada states there are uncertainties about climate change and believes there is sufficient evidence to support precautionary action. To be sure, oil and gas companies will not reach our Kyoto targets without technological advances such as the fuel cell, investments in public transit, new energy efficiency standards and emissions trading system, as well as some lifestyle changes. While many oil and gas companies stalled the need to deal with the threat of climate change, some companies, including Shell Oil Canada are pledging major emission reductions in their own operations and Shell Oil Canada has been promised $865 million to develop alternatives to fossil fuels. Alberta and the federal government laid down their first big bet in the fight to limit carbon dioxide industrial emissions Thursday, promising Shell Canada Energy $865 million in financial support for its Quest project near Fort Saskatchewan. Alberta's ante is $745 million from its $2-billion carbon capture and storage program, while Ottawa is chipping in $120 million from a fund that supports large-scale CO2 projects across Canada. (Cooper, 2009). Anti-pollution measures to eliminate leaded gasoline, to limit emissions producing acid rain and to require fuel efficiency standards and catalytic converters in automobiles were taken by Shell Oil Canada and the government. Other anti-pollution measures such as greenhouse gas reduction, recycling of water and land reclamation were all initially agreed upon by Shell Oil Canada who adopted these changes as noted in my investigative report below. For Shell, any debate about whether climate change is real is over. Demand for energy has been growing and, when global economies recover, will continue to accelerate as emerging nations grow. And as we move to meet the world's energy needs, we recognize that environmental challenges, including climate change and local pollution, are increasing and must be tackled. We need to tackle climate change within the context of energy demand - realistically recognizing the amount of energy that will be required to grow the economy - and providing incentives and offsets through cap and trade programs.

It's critical that government take the lead in defining a framework that will create a viable, efficient and workable market. The energy industry has a key role to play, including working on carbon capture and storage technology solutions, second generation biofuels, renewable, battery technologies, smart grids and more.(Corely, 2009). Oil and gas companies should not underestimate the challenges they face in meeting Kyoto targets. But if other oil and gas companies adopt the attitude of Shell Oil Canada we would find ourselves and our children living in a much better world. The Pacific Environmental, Incorporateds List of top 25 environmental companies has ranked Shell Oil Canada as number three on list of the top 25 environmental friendly companies where it is commended for its alternative fuel types, stance on climate change, and improved GHG emissions. Shell Canada says that in its conventional oil and gas business, it's on pace to meet Kyoto targets by 2008, reducing its emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels. Oil sands, which are causing Canada's emissions to rise quickly, complicate the picture. But here too, big investments are being made in new technologies aimed at reducing the amount of water and natural gas used to mine the sticky tar sands. Shell, which is spending billions on oil sands development, says it will cut its emissions in the oil sands in half by 2010.(Campbell, 2007).Shell Oil Canada is third place in the ranking because they stand head and shoulders above most of their competitors when it comes to support for Kyoto.

References Campbell, C. (2007, May 14).Green Report: The colour of money. Macleans, p.1.Retrieved from http://www.macleans.ca/business/companies/article.jsp?content=20070514_105184_105184 Cooper, D. (2009, October 9). Shell project captures $865M. Calgary Herald, p.1.Retrieved from http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Shell+project+captures+865M/2082387/story.html Cooper, D., Schmidt, L. (2009, October 8).Shell gets $865M for carbon capture. The Calgary Herald, p.1.Retrieved from http://www.canada.com/technology/Shell+gets+865M+carbon+capture/2082725/story.html Corley,K. (2009, May 21).How can the world tackle climate change. The Washington Post, p.1.Retrieved from http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/05/climatechange.htm Eisber, M. (2009, September/October). Innovations in tailings management.CIM magazine, p.1.
Retrieved from http://www.cim.org/bulletin/bulletinlive/articles.cfm?Issue_ID=167&row=3&Type=1&Segment_ID=72

Tait, A. (2010, March 10). Shell answers oil sands critics. Financial Post, p.1.Retrieved from http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Shell%2Banswers%2Boilsands%2Bcritics/2706412/story.html