Christiania Shipping reduces fuel bill and CO2 emissions in months using behavioural science

London, 10th December. An emissions reduction project launched by Denmark-headquartered Christiania Shipping with behaviour change service Signol earlier this year has saved more than 250 metric tonnes of fuel in six months, avoiding at least 790 metric tonnes of CO2.

This success was achieved across Christiania’s original 18-vessel fleet (which has recently expanded) and amounted to a cost saving of more than $150,000 from the shipping company’s fuel bill and $48,000 from regulatory costs under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

Since March 2024, Signol’s solution has enhanced Christiania’s fuel efficiency initiatives by using fuel performance data alongside behavioural science to identify opportunities to save fuel and help crew members increase their fuel-saving actions.

Christiania has now converted the partnership with Signol into a long-term contract to continue engaging crew members on fuel efficiency and achieving further emissions reductions.

Rune Eriksen Lorentsen, Christiania’s Director Operations and Performance, said: “Our six-month trial with Signol almost immediately showed the value of effectively engaging with our crew on fuel efficiency.

“Not only did the resulting fuel reductions produce significant cost-savings, leading to a remarkably quick return on investment, but Signol also helped generate real buy-in from our crew on operational efficiency and decarbonisation, which has created a culture of positive engagement onboard.”

A significant proportion of Christiania’s impressive savings were due to the impact Signol had by helping the crew take more opportunities to optimise vessel trim.

Crew members showed a 16% increase in successful implementation of the trim behaviours during the trial period, with vessels systematically trimmed an average of 0.22 metres closer to even keel, which almost always represents the most efficient trim for the vessel type.

“Our ongoing work with Christiania Shipping shows that focusing on efficient human behaviour can close the gap between fuel performance monitoring and achieving tangible improvements to reduce emissions in practice,” said Harriet Hunnisett Johnson, Head of Maritime at Signol.

“Christiania has very quickly seen that small changes to crews’ actions can add up to really significant fuel savings. The collaboration between Signol and Christiania created a culture of positive engagement with sustainability onboard and the conditions for crew members to do their best work and know that they are making a difference.”

Signol’s behavioural science solution took Christiania’s existing fuel performance monitoring initiatives a step further by using detailed vessel data and insights on fuel consumption to identify four specific opportunities for fuel saving and promote related fuel-saving actions across 70 crew members.

Alongside Signol’s set of behaviour change techniques, Christiania also added Signol’s optional techniques of charitable and personal incentives, making donations to two causes for every fuel-saving goal hit: ships’ welfare funds and The Ocean Cleanup charity.

During the trial, Christiania’s crew hit 4,400 fuel-saving goals and reported a sense of pride and purpose from knowing that their efforts made a significant impact. In a feedback interview, a crew member explained that Signol produced “double happiness” for the crew since individuals know that their efforts result in both emissions reductions and charity donations.

Want to learn more about our work with Christiania Shipping during the 6-month trial? Download our case study here.

By enhancing behaviour change techniques with charitable donation incentives, Signol enables Christiania to fulfil both operational efficiency goals and corporate social responsibility obligations through the same process, which is particularly important under new European regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSD).