Challenge
Many companies in construction, manufacturing and other sectors have made sustainability and circular economy commitments. One way to reduce waste and carbon emissions is to use finished lubricants made from used oil – classified as waste – rather than virgin crude oil. However, these “recycled” products suffer from a false “low-quality” perception. In reality, not all lubricants made from re-refined base oils (RRBO) are equal. With the right processes and technologies, they can offer equivalent performance to many synthetic oils made from virgin crude oil or natural gas.
Shell wanted to explain the sustainability and circular economy advantages of its high-performance, lower carbon lubricants. Its priority was to spread the word internally before addressing customers. Marketing materials would follow, but the initial challenge was to dispel the false perception and explain the advantages.
Approach
Our writers and PowerPoint designers helped to create a comprehensive internal RRBO playbook, which includes a market overview; carbon footprint calculations; sustainability claims with legal guidance; customer value propositions and communication guidelines; and links to resources.
Following this, we created an animated video for customers. Our work included developing the concept, script writing, storyboarding, animating and seeking Shell visual identity approvals.
The video starts by showing two identical drops of finished lubricant, explaining that they cannot be distinguished by technical performance. The only difference is that one has lower carbon emissions as it is made using RRBO. We then rewind, showing the many steps, requiring energy, to extract, transport and refine crude oil into finished lubricant, and the potential environmental costs of waste oil disposal. We compare this with the fewer steps needed to transform used oil into finished lubricant, emphasising the reduction in waste and carbon emissions, and the equivalent performance.
Value delivered
Our understanding of refining processes, lubricant technologies and Shell’s legal and visual approval processes helps us to reduce client workload. Both projects were approved quickly, received praise from our clients and led to referrals within Shell.