Shell Eco-marathon initiative and fifth pan-European Stakeholder Dialogue

Тhe fifth pan-European Stakeholder Dialogue organized by Shell was held on May 5th and 6th in the EuroSpeedway Lausitz racetrack, Germany. The theme of the Stakeholder dialogue this year was "Addressing the Energy Challenge:What role does government, industry and civil society play in driving Sustainable Mobility?" This year's Dialogue focused on the economic, political, technological and consumer challenges facing government, industry and civil society in seeking to promote sustainable mobility and to confront the energy challenges facing the world. It brought together opinion formers from around Europe with an interest in the energy challenge and sustainable mobility. Attendees were drawn from government bodies, industry, academia, non- govrnmental organisations and across civil society. Ms. Maria Shishkova, Chair of the Managing Board of BBLF was among the attendees of this year's Dialogue.

The event was accompanied by the the traditional students competition for cars designed to race for longer distance emmitting less CO2. The challenge of the Shell Eco-marathon Europe involves 200 teams of students and their teachers from across 24 countries competing to design, build and drive the most fuel-efficient vehicle.

"People are naturally inclined to think that new technologies that allow the automobile industry to construct highly energy efficient cars would hurt the business interests of petrochemical companies. Shell's Eco Marathon is a great example of the attitude of true leaders that are focused on innovative solutions working for the best interest of all stakeholders. It was very important for me to collect different points of view on sustainable mobility because BBLF consistently upholds socially responsible business practices which help achieve social, economic and environmentally sustainable development. I saw Shell as a good example for leading the dialogue about sustainable mobility. Moreover, they gather and channel in an exciting way the talent, the enthusiasm and the spirit of students who experience the thrill of having their cars on the road in competition with hundreds of other vehicles. This is a great way to promote fuel economy and environmental protection", says Maria Shishkova, Chair of BBLF.

Since 1985 the Shell Eco-marathon has set the challenge of creating and driving vehicles that are capable of travelling huge distances on a minimum amount of fuel. These vehicles run on a range of fuels including diesel to petrol, biofuels to hydrogen and gas to liquids (GTL) to solar energy.

2010 marks the first global season of the Shell Eco-marathon with events being held in March in the Americas, May in Europe and an inaugural event in Asia in July.

For additional information on the event please visit: www.shell.com/ecomarathon/europe