Signol: Behavioural Change for Positive Environmental Impact

Introduction to Signol

In an era where regulatory pressures intensify the focus on carbon emissions, startups are emerging to address the challenge. While many solutions concentrate on operational aspects, one company takes a human-centric approach, leveraging behavioural data and change techniques to drive impactful reductions in CO2 emissions and fuel costs. 

Signol began with a vision to shift the concept of net zero strategies from a broader, organisational perspective to a more impactful one that emphasises actions taken by individual employees. Their unique approach targets Ship Owners and Managers, and has successfully saved approximately $25 million in fuel costs and prevented the release of nearly 100,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions for customers like Cargill, Stolt Tankers, Virgin Atlantic, and Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement.

The Founding Story

Founded by Dan White, Signol's roots trace back to academic research conducted by behavioural scientists across several leading universities, including the University of Chicago. One of the key personalities in the early days include Professor Robert Metcalfe, an expert in the field of behavioural economics, who was influential in establishing some of the early methodologies.

The journey gained momentum and transitioned from lab to life when Dan crossed paths with Gavin Laidlaw, who was then looking out for promising Aviation startups to invest in, as part of his role at Shell Aviation. Upon listening to Signol’s research and unique concept, Gavin was impressed and was intrigued by the impact of behavioural science on decarbonisation, especially in a hard-to-abate industry like Aviation. Shortly after, he decided to join the team as Director and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), marking the beginning of a transformative journey.

A few months in, a serendipitous encounter in a coffee shop allowed Gavin to reconnect with long-time colleague, Michael Fanning, bringing him into the picture as he was coincidentally drawing up a shortlist for a new CEO at that time. With a successful track record in setting up and scaling Shell Mobility Solutions, Michael became the ideal candidate. The combination of Michael’s capacity for strategic logic and organisational growth, Gavin’s energy and enthusiasm for connecting with customers, and their dedication toward optimising fuel efficiency, forms the basis of Signol’s mission to maximise GHG emission savings across sectors. 

Signol’s Leadership Team. From left to right, Gavin Laidlaw (CCO) and Michael Fanning (CEO).

Early Beginnings

The early days of Signol saw the team in a very different space, exclusively targeting pilots in commercial aviation. This changed during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic when Aviation came to a complete halt. Coincidentally, at that time, Signol was enrolled in an accelerator programme and had the opportunity to pitch to a panel which included the executive team from BSM Ship Management. Intrigued by the potential of their solution, the Schulte brothers expressed interest in applying Signol's principles to the maritime industry and supported the team to run their first trial in the maritime industry. 

The trial ran in the second half of 2021 and involved 60 Masters and Chief Engineers on 28 vessels under full management of BSM Deutschland (BSMD) on a voluntary basis. Each participating crew member received individualised targets via Signol’s app which were calculated based on the seafarer’s prior performance. Every week, participants received updates on their personal milestones and achievements via the app and email; and through a combination of fair targets and positive feedback, Signol gently nudged individual Masters and Chief Engineers to implement fuel-saving practices.

In just four months alone, operators saved US$3.2 million as compared to their pre-Signol benchmarks. With such astonishing results, Signol instinctively knew that they had to expand their offerings towards the Maritime industry. 

Signol’ Manager Dashboard. This dashboard provides an overview of the performance of all seafarers and respective carbon cost savings achieved.

Today, the platform quickly onboards customers through ingesting digital noon reports to understand the current performance of Ship Captains and seafarers; individualised SMART goals and feedback are also created to nudge specific employees to make well-informed choices toward carbon reduction targets, in areas such as main and auxiliary engine performance and trim optimisation.

Growth and Evolution

Signol’s growth stemmed from the team working collaboratively with key industry players to validate problem statements and run trials. Through participating in startup accelerators and incubator programmes, the team gained a headstart in identifying early adopters, including Boeing’s HorizonX, and had doors opened to new opportunities, including a grant by Elemental Excelerator to run a Proof of Concept (PoC) with Young Brothers in Hawaii.

In spite of their early achievements, Signol remains humble and dedicated to continuous learning and product improvement. During a collaboration with a German shipping company, the team had an interesting conversation with a technical superintendent who shared pain points borne out of the Covid-19 pandemic. One distinct example included the change in profiles of age and experience that Masters and Chief Engineers had, due to the “great retirement” brought on by the pandemic. This resulted in widened learning gaps, and the shipping company was keen on having Signol resolve this issue for them.

In understanding the urgency of the challenge, Signol’s team sprung into action and worked closely with the company to brainstorm unique solutions. The result was a set of 25 educational prompts integrated into Signol’s existing product to guide users toward better understanding how to set up the vessel for efficiency. Signol’s ability to target and accurately address pain points for customers promptly received enthusiastic praises.

Signol’s User Dashboard and Progress Report. The dashboard showcases personalised SMART goals and tracks seafarers’ performance on a daily basis. The weekly report recaps seafarers’ performance and quantifies the impact of their behavioural change.

Through remaining close to their customers’ needs, the team has been able to quickly iterate their solutions through learning points and genuine feedback, allowing their platform to help customers achieve significant improvement in fuel efficiency.

Looking Ahead

Signol aspires to become synonymous with behaviour change at scale, not only in maritime and aviation but across multiple industries. To date, Signol has enabled customers to achieve 5 to 12% in emissions cost savings. Yet, this is only the start. The team is already exploring how AI can further enable a deeper level of personalisation in Signol’s product; extensive R&D is in the works, bringing the team closer toward producing a personalised AI-driven behaviour change service for added impact. 

In a world where every action counts, Signol stands as a testament to the impact of behavioural change on sustainability. As they envision a future where positive behaviour change resonates across industries, Signol invites you to join their journey towards a more sustainable and efficient world.

If you share Signol’s purpose, vision and enthusiasm, and would like to learn more about investment opportunities, feel free to contact Michael for more details.

To find out more about Signol’s product offering, visit their website here or click on the “Book a Demo” button to set up an introductory call with the team.