“What happens when you take on Shell as a sponsor”: Cyclists blame “nauseating greenwashing” deal as British Cycling membership drops by 15,000 in under two years

The long-term effects of British Cycling’s controversial partnership with oil giant Shell continue to be laid bare, after the governing body revealed that its membership has continued to drop by 11 per cent over the past year and a half, as cyclists blamed the “nauseating greenwashing” scandal for the organisation’s recent woes.

Earlier this month, British Cycling published its annual report and financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2024, which revealed that its membership numbers had fallen from 137,968 to 128,663 over the previous year. Since then, the governing body has confirmed that the number of members has dropped even further, to 122,982 by the end of November.

That means British Cycling’s membership has fallen by almost 11 per cent since March 2023.

This most recent drop followed an initial mass exodus which took place from the national governing body, after it announced an eight-year deal with the UK branch of multinational oil and gas company Shell in October 2022, a partnership that attracted accusations of greenwashing and led to many cyclists revoking their memberships in protest, leading to a seven per cent fall in members within five months.

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That protest, which has also taken place in the form of guerilla billboard and T-shirt campaigns, appears to be continuing into 2025, as cyclists responded to the news of British Cycling’s falling numbers by pointing to the Shell deal – and the oil company’s attempt to ‘greenwash’ its environmentally damaging activities by investing in an activity associated with sustainable, healthy living – as a key factor in them cancelling their membership.

“Shell. What did they expect?” asked Michael on social media.

“Ended my membership as soon as the Shell sponsorship was announced,” added Colin, while Jason said: “This is what happens when you take on Shell as a sponsor. That’s why I gave up my membership.”

“I also left the moment the Shell deal was announced,” said Dan. “I used the membership mainly for the insurance but there’s plenty of other providers out there.”

“British Cycling could be more scrupulous over who it accepts sponsorship from,” noted James, who also described the “greenwashing” aspect of the deal as “nauseating”.

> Extinction Rebellion protest British Cycling's Shell deal at National Cycling Centre

However, others also pointed to other factors which could be linked to British Cycling’s recent shrinkage.

“I’ve lost count of the number of things that made me cancel my membership,” said Howard, while Ben noted that the “association with HSBC and Shell, focus on competitive cycling, and ignoring normal cycling meant I bailed to Cycling UK.”

Meanwhile, Peter also claimed that British Cycling’s offering was “poor value compared to Cycling UK membership, which includes insurance”.

“There is a growing gap between what British Cycling thinks its members want and what the members actually want and need,” added Keith. “I think you’ll find that if there was a viable alternative there would be an even bigger number of members leaving BC.”

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Along with the backlash associated with the Shell deal, the governing body’s falling numbers also, naturally, saw its income from membership drop from £6.1 million to £5.8 million.

To halt this drop, British Cycling overhauled its annual membership offerings in the spring, scrapping the entry-level racing membership of £27 and replacing it with a baseline standard fee of £50 and an £80 premium membership, while introducing a free supporter tier, the take-up of which the body says has been “significant”.

The organisation also posted an overall pre-tax loss of £660,329 for the year ending March 2024, its third consecutive loss, though a sharp reduction on the £1.16 million loss from the previous year, when 11 of its 250-odd employees were made redundant.

> UK Sport warned British Cycling that Shell sponsorship deal could expose them to “legal and reputational risk”, reveals FOI request

However, the report nonetheless highlights the benefits of the Shell partnership, when it comes to purely financial considerations anyway, as the governing body’s commercial partnership funds increased from £1.86 million to £2.52 million, closer to the £3.19 million it received from sponsors during the HSBC days.

And it’s that focus on increasing income from commercial partners and members, instead of relying on grants, that CEO John Dutton and chair Frank Slevin highlighted in the report as necessary to “return British Cycling to a position of growth” amid a “challenging” environment.

“Upon joining British Cycling in April 2023, it was clear to me that this was an organisation with a proud history of world-leading success, an organisation with enormous future potential, but also an organisation which urgently needed to modernise,” Dutton said.

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

“While the programme of change we have embarked upon has a long-term focus, I’m pleased that we have already been able to make tangible and impactful progress in the past year, particularly on our brand and reputation, data strategy. and membership proposition.

“For us to continue to increase our investment into the sport and enhance the support we provide for our members in the future, it's imperative that we increase our self-generated income streams and lessen our reliance on grant income.

“Alongside our work on membership, in the past year we have placed great focus on reinvigorating our commercial proposition and increasing the number of commercial assets we can take to market.

“With the support of Lloyds Bank and the opportunities laid out in our long-term vision for major events and new social impact framework, we are now well-placed to return British Cycling to a position of growth and replenish our reserves in the years ahead.

“There is no overnight fix and the environment in which we operate is incredibly challenging, but we are on a journey of continual improvement with a high amount of determination.”

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British Cycling chairperson Slevin added: “While we continue to face severe macro-economic headwinds, I’m proud of the work our organisation has done in the past year to lay the foundations for future growth, and enable us to fulfil our purpose of bringing the joy of cycling to everyone.

“I’m also pleased to see that so much of the hard work undertaken by the team in the 2023/24 period has already born fruit, with the announcement of Lloyds Bank as our new Lead Partner in May 2024, and the modernisation of our membership proposition, which has resulted in a return to growth in membership income in both Q4 of 23/24 and Q1 of 24/25.

“As ever, we are enormously thankful to our major funding partners, Sport England and UK Sport, and our family of commercial partners. The 2023/24 financial year saw British riders competing across the world in their final preparations for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“The Games provide us with an unrivalled opportunity to reach new audiences and inspire the nation, and we are hugely thankful for their ongoing support.”