Shell and BP are among 150 signatories of a letter to United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging the U.K. government to emphasize sustainability in its COVID-19 recovery plan.
The letter, coordinated by the United Kingdom branch of the United Nations Global Compact Network and U.K. Stakeholders for Sustainable Development, proposes that the government base its plan on the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Those goals are meant to serve as a blueprint to address challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice by 2030.
The letter asks the Prime Minister to prioritize the most vulnerable, level the inequalities between regions and strata of society, build policies to promote a healthy planet, mitigate carbon emissions from the U.K. to net zero and build a stronger and more resilient economy.
“Clearly, it is essential, irrespective of Covid-19, that we put in place measures as the U.K. and globally to be more sustainable,” David Hopkinson, president of the U.K. Lubricants Association, told Lube Report. Shell and BP are two major manufacturers of lubricants. Shell markets its Helix-branded passenger car motor oil and BP its Castrol oils through large fuel retail stations throughout the country, as well as globally. Both have a roughly 20% market share each in the U.K. auto lube market.