Sleight of hand. Our national airline, Air New Zealand, features a flying canoe (Waka rererangi) in its latest safety video, using a charming and mystical narrative that leverages all things Māori. However, it glosses over the fact that jet travel is the single most polluting activity that the general population can engage in. This seems to be a very creative, and depending on how you look at it, perhaps cynical play towards current social trends and emotions. Their previous advertisement had school children espousing the virtues of hydrogen as an aviation fuel. These creations are now in the public archives and may come back to haunt them in the future.

Appearing to be ahead of the game. Big box retailers of general merchandise are making efforts to convince the public that they are virtuous and doing the right thing. They claim carbon neutrality by purchasing offsets from other countries, report progress on waste reduction and ending modern slavery, and offer better products. And it's not just The Warehouse doing it. While it's a good start, let's not forget that during the COVID lockdown, the government deemed such enterprises 'non-essential'.

Assuming the high ground. Executives, directors, and government leaders at the local and central levels often claim to have an ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) or CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) program in place, saying 'trust us, we're doing our part to save the planet.' However, the vast majority of these programs are run by marketing or public relations departments with large budgets for creating illusions. In reality, there is little or no impact on actual operational activity, as historical systems, agreements, and expectations of future benefits and returns continue to govern decisions.

Fake caring. Over the past decade, terms such as diversity, inclusion, safety, partnership, co-design, co-development, co-governance, climate justice, child poverty, just transition, managed retreat, emissions mitigation, and partnership have become embedded in our consciousness. But what tangible results have followed? There's a lot of government activity that is announced, but never gets off the ground, or more recently, gets scrapped altogether. There are youth marches, screeds of new documents from government departments and new language appearing through various channels. But the underlying operating system remains the same old system driven by law, banking, and politics.

In conclusion, the system is wired to resist change, making it difficult to push back against accepted thinking and practices. As social creatures, we often participate in virtue signaling, either consciously or unconsciously, depending on our level of awareness and surrounding culture. 

While this behavior has become normalised in many aspects of life, evidence about what is and isn't the right thing to do is mounting. The distraction, delay, or deception perpetuated through virtue signaling will eventually be exposed.

We encourage avoiding the virtue signaling game altogether and nurturing relationships that lead to feasible pathways and transitions. Developing awareness of the facts and predicaments we face is crucial to calling out virtue signaling, making and keeping commitments, and focusing on action rather than talk. 

We must also find communications experts who can tell our real story of progress rather than relying on marketing and PR spin doctors who perpetuate virtue signaling. In this way, we can shift our focus from fake caring to real action. 

Thought of another virtue signaling pattern...? drop us a line and we'll add it to the list.

This weeks quote:

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." 

                                            - Theodore Roosevelt