Shell's Contribution to National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Shell’s financial contribution to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), celebrated at the “Celebrating the Great Outdoors” event, positions the company as a supporter of U.S. conservation efforts. The NFWF is a major player in ecological restoration, funding projects that protect wildlife habitats and promote long-term sustainability. Shell’s involvement is framed as a commitment to environmental stewardship—a familiar narrative from fossil fuel companies seeking to showcase their green credentials. However, this donation exists alongside troubling contradictions in Shell’s core operations, particularly its role in processing oil sourced from one of the most biodiverse and ecologically fragile areas on Earth: the Amazon. Key facilities like the Martinez refinery in California and the Puget Sound Refinery in Washington process Amazonian crude—fuels linked to deforestation, Indigenous displacement, and long-term ecological damage. Despite public relations efforts, a significant percentage of Shell’s refining output originates from this controversial source. Environmental critics argue that such donations, while helpful in isolation, serve as distractions from the systemic harms associated with Shell’s global supply chains. This juxtaposition of conservation sponsorship and destructive extraction practices reflects a deeper tension: can meaningful environmental protection coexist with the continued exploitation of high-risk ecosystems? Or is corporate conservation just another form of greenwashing?