Do we like them?

Do we like Shell?

Oil, gas and fuels giant, with petrol stations, LNG, chemicals and a shrinking power business. British, London-based.

Our score: 3 out of 10. Probably not. Courts have found it liable for Nigerian spills, and it has been cutting back on climate targets and renewables to push oil and gas.

Shell is one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies. It is listed in London and New York, so it belongs to its shareholders. Wael Sawan, a Shell veteran who joined in 2007, has been CEO since January 2023, and Sir Andrew Mackenzie chairs the board.

The biggest running sore is Nigeria. In 2021 a Dutch appeals court held Shell's Nigerian unit liable for oil spills in two villages. Shell says sabotage caused them. Amnesty says another case, from the Ogale and Bille communities, is due for trial in the UK in 2027.

On climate, Shell won its big Dutch case in 2024, when the appeal court threw out a 45% emissions-cut order. The same court still said Shell has a duty of care to help tackle dangerous climate change. Friends of the Earth Netherlands has taken the case to the Supreme Court.

Under Sawan, Shell dropped its 2035 carbon-intensity target and softened its 2030 one. One analysis site says it has sold renewables businesses in 2026 and capped low-carbon spending. Shell's 2050 net-zero ambition is still officially in place, though the direction of travel is back to fossil fuels.

Customers have had problems too. Ofcom fined Shell Energy, the UK consumer arm, £1.4m for failing to tell over 70,000 phone and broadband customers to review their contracts. Our score is 3 out of 10: big, legitimate and regulated, but a big polluter that is now retreating from the transition.