Diversity policy

SSPF diversity policy

Shell Pension Fund Foundation (SSPF) manages pension entitlements and pension rights for current and former employees of Shell who joined the company before 1 July 2013, and for their surviving dependants. SSPF wants all stakeholders in the fund to feel that their interests are being represented.

Basic principles of SSPF diversity policy
Increasing diversity is a key objective within SSPF. Diversity within SSPF bodies and committees is promoted on the basis of the realisation that this will broaden the horizons of the board, the Accountability Body and the board of Supervisors and, by doing this, improve management, accountability and internal supervision respectively. Diversity promotes creativity and innovation and prevents tunnel vision, which makes diversity policy a key component of efforts to achieve the best possible composition of SSPF bodies.

With this in mind, diversity is one of the factors taken into consideration - besides the expertise, competence and professional conduct envisaged - as regards the composition of and succession to the SSPF board, Accountability Body and board of Supervisors, as described in the Pension Fund Code of Governance.

When contemplating the composition of and succession to the board and the Accountability Body, efforts are made to ensure that there is:

diversity of skills, socio-cultural backgrounds and views, with room for discretion in the interpretation thereof;
a good gender mix, including at least three female members;
a balanced age distribution, including a minimum of one member under the age of forty and a minimum of one over the age of forty at the time of appointment. This takes into account the fact that SSPF is a soft, closed-ended pension fund and no new members join, which means that the age of stakeholders is increasing;
where possible, a reasonable reflection of stakeholders in SSPF, with a balanced distribution of individuals across businesses, positions and locations.

The composition of and succession to the board of Supervisors takes into account education, (socio-cultural) background, personality, gender, and age.

Another dimension of diversity is ‘complementarity’. This can be defined as a situation in which people complement each other based on the diversity of skills and expertise they bring to the table. Complementarity paves the way for a more all-inclusive approach to management, accountability and internal supervision.

The diversity requirements above have been included in the profiles developed for prospective members of the board and the board of Supervisors. The same applies to the competency vision of the Accountability Body. The board assesses candidates for membership of SSPF bodies and committees based on diversity objectives, amongst other things.

Current diversity within SSPF bodies
Since September 2023, three of the eight SSPF board members are women. One board member is under 40 years of age at the time of appointment. The three board members in active service with Shell each work at a different organisational unit (businesses and positions) of the company, including Joint Ventures, at home and abroad. The background of the retired board members within the company is also diverse.

SSPF’s Accountability Body consists of four female members since September 2023. One member of the Accountability Body is under the age of 40. The experience and background within Shell of representatives of both active participants and pension beneficiaries is highly diverse.

On the board of Supervisors, one of the three members is a woman. Members of the board of Supervisors come from a variety of professional and social backgrounds.

In the board’s opinion, a reasonable level of diversity has been achieved in terms of age and gender, but diversity, especially with regard to age and socio-cultural background, can be further promoted in the coming years. This has been taken into consideration in succession planning.

To maintain and further increase diversity, it is important for SSPF to identify and commit good candidates and do so in a timely manner. This resulted in 2022, in collaboration between SSPF and SNPS, in the development of the TOPS programme, which stands for ‘Talent Ontwikkeling Pensioenfondsen Shell’ or Shell Pension Funds Talent Development. The nominating parties have the opportunity within the TOPS programme to nominate individuals and make them familiar with the subject of pensions, which may increase the pipeline of potential candidates for SSPF’ bodies, thereby contributing to the further broadening of diversity and the objectives set out in this diversity policy.

When vacancies arise in the board or Accountability Body, Shell and the Central Employee Council for Shell in the Netherlands (COR) are asked to specifically bear in mind the diversity standards set out in the Pension Fund Code of Governance when nominating candidates. The basic idea is for SSPF to meet these diversity standards at the very least. The TOPS programme helps increase the pool of diverse candidates.

Evaluation of SSPF diversity policy
The SSPF annual report includes information about the age, social-cultural background and gender composition of the board and Accountability Body and also about efforts made to promote diversity in these bodies. The TOPS programme is supportive of this. Each year, the board assesses the extent to which the objectives set have been met and whether the resources available to do this were effective. The board evaluates its longer-term diversity policy three times a year.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) within Shell
SSPF diversity policy reflects the Shell Group Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) policy, a permanent process that focuses on doing justice to diversity among people and giving them space in the work they do. It removes obstacles, allowing individual employees to make a real contribution to Shell’s activities, regardless of the differences between them and others.

'Diversity' can be defined as all of the ways in which people are different to each other. These include visible differences like age, gender, ethnicity and physical condition, but also invisible differences like beliefs, religion, nationality, life experience, sexual orientation, etc. With this in mind, a number of different networks are active within Shell in the Netherlands, including the WE Network, Young Shell, the Pink Pearl (LGBT+) Network, the Shell enAble Network for employees with a physical impairment, the Shell Middle East and North Africa Network and the Shell Asia-Pacific Network.

‘Equity’ stands for promoting fairness, impartiality and justice. It describes how every diverse individual has equal access and opportunities and is treated fairly by identifying and removing barriers.

'Inclusion' can be defined as a working environment in which differences between people are valued, in which everyone is able to be themselves while also conforming to Shell’s norms, values and principles and in which people are given the opportunity to develop their skills and talents. Inclusion helps make the organisation one in which people are committed to each other and to the company as well. This motivates committed employees and creates economic added value too.

The annual Shell People Survey contains a number of questions about DE&I; taken together, they form the DE&I Index. The questions are designed to establish whether the working environment is one in which different values and perspectives are valued and also whether it is free from discrimination and denigration. There has been a visible improvement in all of these points in recent years.

You can find Shell Group’s current DE&I policy on the website of Shell.