At the Kent Business Show, Amelia Lauster Frearson – Account Director at Morton Waters – delivered a powerful message: doing good is no longer optional – it’s essential and expected.
Drawing from her experience working with clients across the built environment and professional services, Amelia guided attendees through how purpose-driven marketing can unlock growth, trust, and long-term business resilience.
From ethics to opportunity: The new business mandate
The world isn’t just facing an environmental crisis, it’s facing a climate emergency, a societal emergency, and a business emergency, Amelia explained.
Whether it’s extreme weather disrupting supply chains or rising insurance costs linked to flooding, these challenges are already having a direct impact on UK businesses. Concerns about the environment and societal issues is also influencing buying decisions, tender requirements, and employee engagement. The pressure is on businesses to step up – not just with statements, but with meaningful action.
Rather than viewing this as a threat, Amelia positioned it as an opportunity:
“The most successful companies today aren’t just ticking ESG (environmental, social and governance) boxes, they’re building businesses grounded in purpose and marketing that purpose with intention.”
What is ‘purpose’– really?
Purpose isn’t just a feel-good tagline or a page on your website. It’s the intersection of three core truths that almost every business already has answers to:
- The problem you’ve identified,
- and solution you offer,
- the benefit you deliver and value you add.
At its heart, purpose is your business’s reason for existing beyond profit. It’s about who you serve, how you serve them, and what you stand for. By recognising and articulating these core elements, all businesses can uncover their authentic purpose and build trust with their stakeholders.
Amelia reiterated, noting that clients, consumers, and even prospective employees are increasingly seeking alignment with brands that reflect their values:
“Doing good is good business.”
Amelia cited a striking stat:
“While 72% of small businesses agree that environmental and social factors affect their brand reputation, only 4% have a comprehensive ESG strategy.”
This gap between awareness and action represents a major risk, and a powerful opportunity for those who step up.
Marketing as a force for change
Why does marketing matter in this conversation? Businesses often already engage in socially responsible behaviours – supporting communities, minimising environmental impact, or ensuring fair employment practices – but fail to communicate these effectively. People can’t know the positive impact a business is having, if they don’t hear about it.
Amelia shared five principles of responsible marketing:
- Alignment and authenticity – Your messaging must reflect your real–world values and practices.
- Transparency and honesty – Acknowledge both progress and gaps you’re working on.
- Credibility and evidence – Prove your impact with stories, data, and third–party validation.
- Stakeholder engagement – Bring your team, clients, suppliers, and community along with you.
- Collaboration, compliance, and influence – Use your influence to improve standards in your sector.
This, she stressed, isn’t about slick PR or virtue signalling:
“It has to be more than skin deep.”
Real–world examples: When purpose drives performance
Amelia shared several examples of clients who successfully embed purpose into their business model and marketing and see results:
- A law and HR firm integrates ethical business practices into its everyday operations. The company’s purpose – supporting employers and improving workplace wellbeing – doesn’t require reinvention, only clear communication.
- A civil engineering consultancy working in renewable energy and rail has used purpose–driven messaging to stand out in a competitive market. This ethical focus has helped the company double staff numbers, expand into new regions, and win industry awards.
- A flat roofing company took a bold step toward sustainability by becoming B Corp certified. This structured framework enabled them to not only address its environmental and social impact and set clear goals but also become B Corp certified. This gave the SME both internal clarity and external credibility, helping win new tenders and gain access to public sector frameworks, as procurement processes increasingly ask for ESG credentials.
All saw clear commercial benefits from clearly communicating their values – winning more work, attracting top talent, and differentiating in crowded markets.
Case study from the floor: SME mobility solutions supplier
One of the most insightful moments during Amelia’s participative session came from attendees who work at an SME providing mobility solutions for individuals and councils. Despite implementing ethical practices – such as recycling equipment and investing in safe installation – they often lost out to cheaper competitors when tendering for public contracts.
This sparked a lively discussion around the systemic challenges facing responsible businesses. As another attendee pointed out:
“The horror of Grenfell showed us what happens when we reduce everything to the bottom line.”
The group explored the potential impact of the recently introduced Procurement Act, which will require public bodies to assess social value alongside cost. For ethical SMEs, this change could be transformational, giving them the recognition (and contracts) their values deserve.
As one attendee from the mobility SME summarised:
“We don’t necessarily need to change what we’re doing. We need to get better at showing the good we already do.”
The power of choosing better
Amelia closed the session by offering practical support to help businesses develop and communicate their purpose:
Industry bodies and regulators are increasingly supporting ethical business practices.
Frameworks such as B Corp, the Good Business Charter and the Living Wage Foundation help businesses measure and demonstrate their impact.
The Carbon Literacy Project and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) offer training for companies looking to talk about sustainability and understand their responsibility to credibly market their credentials.
So, what is next?
Amelia’s session served as both a call to action and a roadmap. Her message was clear:
“Doing good is no longer a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a strategic necessity.”
With new legislation, shifting expectations, and a more purpose–driven workforce, businesses that communicate their values authentically and effectively will be the ones that thrive.
And for the many businesses who are already working within their community, collaborating with clients and considering their environmental impact, the challenge isn’t reinvention, it’s visibility. Purpose is their edge. Now it’s time to own it.
Interested in learning more? We offer this workshop to SMEs free of charge. Get in touch to book a session for your team, contact Amelia Lauster Frearson.