Do you ever wonder how you can reduce your carbon footprint? You’re not alone. 7 in 10 residents of the UK agree that they will be more conscious in future about the carbon footprint in the services they buy.
There are ways in which we can help reduce the amount of carbon emissions we generate – by consuming fewer products or choosing products which have a lower carbon impact, for example.
When it comes to driving you also have choices. You could choose to walk or drive a lower emission vehicle such as a hydrogen or electric vehicle.
But most drivers cannot just switch to electric vehicles overnight. So, in the meantime, Shell is offering these drivers the opportunity to lower their carbon footprint and offset their CO2 emissions. Simply join the Shell Go+ rewards programme, opt-in to the CO2 offset programme via the Shell app and scan your Shell Go+ app, card or key fob every time you fill-up. From the 24th April 2023 you will be charged an extra **1.5p per litre (increasing from 1p per litre) to contribute to offsetting the carbon emissions from your fuel purchases. Offer excludes fuel card transactions. Shell fuel card customers interested in offsetting the emissions of their fleet can visit: https://www.shell.co.uk/fuelcardco2
So, what does this mean? Well, when you drive an internal combustion engine, your vehicle produces carbon emissions. For Shell Go+ customers who have opted-in, Shell will buy carbon credits to offset, or compensate, for these emissions. One credit represents the avoidance or removal of 1 tonne of carbon from the atmosphere and these credits are sold to Shell by carefully chosen nature-based projects – such as forest developments or grassland preservation projects – that capture and store carbon from the atmosphere.
Shell will calculate the lifecycle CO2 emission rates from your fuel purchases and buy and retire the appropriate amount of carbon credits that protect and restore nature. This means the full lifecycle*** of carbon emissions - emissions from the production and distribution of the fuel as well as those that come from the combustion of the fuel in the engine - are all offset.
Customers can opt out at any time via their Go+ app, or Go+ account online.
You see, good things happen when you Shell Go+ it. Start today, click here to find out more.
How does it work?
What are carbon credits?
How does Shell select carbon offset programs?
What is the difference between protection, replanting and afforestation?
Frequently asked questions
Want To Know About Carbon Offsetting?
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What are carbon emissions?
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Carbon emissions are produced when we make and use products in our day to day lives. The same applies for the fuel you use to drive. Carbon emissions are generated when we produce the fuel, when we distribute it to your local service station and when you drive.
As more carbon emissions build up in our atmosphere, this causes more heat from the sun to be trapped, which heats up our planet – this is known as global warming.
There are ways in which we can help reduce the amount of carbon emissions we generate by consuming fewer products or choosing products which have a lower carbon impact.
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How are carbon emissions calculated?
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Different fuels emit different volumes of carbon emissions during the production of the fuel, the distribution of it to your local forecourt and through driving. At Shell we use government emissions factors, unique to your fuel type to calculate the amount of CO2 emissions that need to be offset, relevant to the volume of fuel you’ve purchased.
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What is carbon offsetting?
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It’s all a balancing act, compensating for carbon emissions that are produced elsewhere.
To enable our customers to lower their carbon footprint, we buy carbon credits from carbon offset schemes that invest in the protection and replanting of forests around the world in order to balance out the carbon emissions from the production, distribution and use of fuel.
As forests, grasslands and wetlands store carbon from the atmosphere, protecting and replanting these environments means we can offset the carbon emissions from driving.
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Why is Shell investing in nature?
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Ecosystems like forests, grasslands or wetlands naturally remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. And nature-based solutions, or natural climate solutions, are projects which protect, transform or restore these natural ecosystems so that they can absorb even more CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. But these projects can also have extra benefits such as offering alternative sources of income to local communities, improving soil productivity, cleaning air and water, and maintaining biodiversity. Working with nature is an essential element of addressing the climate challenge we collectively face and that's why Shell is using nature-based offsetting projects as one of the many routes to reducing the overall carbon impact of the products we sell.
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Why do I have to opt-in in order to get this offer?
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Tackling climate change is something that we all need to do together, and this is not about providing an excuse to drive guilt-free. We want to encourage customers to play a more active role in reducing their own carbon emissions. We already provide our customers with the option to switch to low-carbon vehicles such as electric, and we have one of the biggest EV charging networks not only in the UK, but across Europe. And this network is growing. But not everyone can switch to an electric vehicle immediately and in the meantime, offsetting is an option for people who want to reduce their carbon footprints.
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How do I opt-in for this offer?
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We're so pleased you want to opt-in! To do so, download the Shell app and tap on the rewards page icon. You then need to click on “Join the Co2 Offset Programme” at the top and slide across the button to opt-in. Please note that once opted in, from the 24th April 2023 you are consenting to paying an extra **1.5p per litre extra (increasing from 1p per litre) on every fill, unless you opt out.
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How can I opt out?
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You can opt out at any time. If you have the Shell app, just visit the rewards tab, click on the Join the Co2 Offset Programme section and slide the button across to opt out.
Shell has a portfolio of projects around the world it supports which help to protect and restore natural ecosystems like forests and rainforests. One conservation project is The Cordillera Azul National Park project, between the Andes and the Amazon basin in Peru, which includes 3.7 million hectares of forest, much of which is under threat. Another is Katingan Mentaya project in Indonesia, which not only reduces carbon emissions but protects and conserves biodiversity and enables the sustainable development of local communities.
Click here to find out more
Analogies:
Shell has developed a series of analogies to help customers better understand how carbon is captured and stored using nature. The analogies are used for illustrative purposes only. Whilst Shell takes reasonable care to ensure the data is true and accurate, the figures have been presented in a non-technical way to represent the scale of carbon sequestration. The average tree is defined as one with a 20-cm diameter at breast height, younger trees contain less carbon and others like Redwoods would contain far more carbon at full maturity sequestration of a tree, using three trillion trees (Crowther T. W., 2015) on the planet, which contain 400 giga tons of carbon (Erb, 2017). The average tree contains 0.48 t CO2.
*General public survey conducted by Ipsos Spring 2023.
**subject to change on notice
*** Lifecycle emissions offset, i.e. from the production, distribution and use of fuel through driving are offset using Verified Emission Reduction (VER) carbon credits.
