Diversity policy

Shell Nederland Pensioenfonds Stichting (SNPS) administers the pension entitlements of current and former employees who joined Shell Netherlands on or after 1 July 2013. SNPS wants all stakeholders in the fund to feel that their interests are being represented.

Basic principles of SNPS diversity policy
Increasing diversity is a key objective within SNPS. Diversity within SNPS bodies and committees is promoted on the basis of the realisation that this will broaden the horizons of the single-tier board and the Accountability Body and, by doing this, improve management (including internal supervision) and accountability. 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 SNPS bodies and committees.

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 SNPS board and Accountability Body, 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:

diverse skills, social-cultural backgrounds and views are represented and that the members of the board and Accountability Body reasonably reflect the composition of SNPS stakeholders;
a balanced distribution of individuals from different businesses, positions and locations is achieved;
a good balance is achieved between participants in the gross pension scheme and board members who are (only) participants in the net pension scheme;
a good gender mix, including at least two female members;
a balanced age distribution, including a minimum of one member under the age of 40 and a minimum of one over the age of 40.

SNPS currently has only a limited number of pension beneficiaries. Despite this fact, the board is keen to ensure the involvement of this group.

N.B. SNPS has created scope in its constitution for the representatives of pension beneficiaries. However, while pension beneficiaries represent less than 10% of the number of participants and pension beneficiaries combined, they will not be represented by board members. The same applies in respect of the Accountability Body.

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 (including effective internal supervision) and accountability.

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

Current diversity within SNPS bodies and committees
Since September 2023, two of the eight SNPS board members are women. One non-executive board member is under the age of 40. The board members in active employment at Shell work in different organisational units (businesses and functions).

SNPS’ Accountability Body consists of six members, two of whom are female, including the chair of the Accountability Body. Two members are under the age of 40. The experience and backgrounds of Accountability Body members - whether inside Shell or elsewhere - are very diverse too.

The board believes that a good level of diversity has been achieved in both the board and Accountability Body in terms of age, social-cultural background and gender at the current time. Having said this, the board realises that the diversity requirements set will remain on its agenda in the years ahead. Ultimately, the board also wants to ensure that the majority of members of the board and the Accountability Body are participants of the SNPS gross scheme at the very least; this has been taken into consideration in succession planning.

To maintain and further increase diversity, it is important for SNPS to identify and commit good candidates and do so in a timely manner. This resulted in 2022, in collaboration between SNPS and SSPF, 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 SNPS’ 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 Netherlands and the Central Employee Body 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 SNPS to meet these diversity standards at the very least. The TOPS programme helps increase the pool of diverse candidates.

Evaluation of SNPS diversity policy
The SNPS 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
SNPS 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 Shell 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.

Here you can find the Shell Group’s current DE&I policy.