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How MEERKATworks helped Edinburgh Remakery define its purpose, sharpen its mission and find its voice 

When Edinburgh Remakery first partnered with MEERKATworks in 2022, we were entering a new chapter. We were ready to grow. We had a clear vision, ambitious plans and a strong understanding of why we existed. We had already defined our vision and mission, but something still wasn’t quite right. 

We knew who we were. We just couldn’t explain it simply. 

As a purpose-led charity and social enterprise, we needed a way to communicate with very different audiences, from local communities and charitable funders to businesses, looking for sustainable, social IT Asset Disposition (Social ITAD) services. 

We needed one clear idea that connected everything we did. 

The MEERKATworks team took the time to understand our organisation, our people and our ambitions. They immersed themselves in our work around repair, reuse, the circular economy and sustainability, asking thoughtful questions and challenging our thinking along the way. 

The outcome was four simple words that have become central to Edinburgh Remakery. 

Waste Less Live More 
It wasn’t a strapline. It became our purpose. 

“MEERKATworks didn’t just help us find the right words, they helped us articulate who we are. Waste Less Live More has become much more than a strapline. Their work helped shape our purpose, refine our mission and values, and gave us a voice that truly reflects the organisation we’ve become. Today it guides our strategy, shapes our culture and informs everything from how we communicate with communities to how we engage businesses and funders. It gives our team, partners and supporters a clear understanding of why Edinburgh Remakery exists and where we’re going.” 
Elaine Brown, CEO, Edinburgh Remakery 

Today, our purpose underpins every decision we make. It influences strategy, shapes our culture and provides a benchmark against which we measure success. It has become part of our everyday language and is relevant with staff, volunteers, customers, partners and supporters. 

Growing with purpose 

By early 2025, Edinburgh Remakery had evolved again. 

Following a successful period of Settling and Strengthening, we were ready for our next strategic chapter: Growth with Purpose. 

We expanded our charitable programmes tackling digital exclusion and social isolation, we were growing our Social ITAD services, helping businesses manage the disposal of their end-of-life IT assets sustainably while generating income to fund our charitable work. 

As we evolved, we recognised that our brand and communications had to evolve too. 

Was our mission still the right one? Did our values truly reflect who we had become? Did our communications convey the confidence, energy and ambition of our organisation? 

There was only one team we wanted to work with.

Honest conversations. 

Fresh perspectives. 

Because MEERKATworks already understood Edinburgh Remakery, they didn’t need to learn who we were, they helped us see ourselves differently. 

Through workshops and strategic conversations, they challenged assumptions, simplified complexity and brought fresh perspective to our organisation. 

One of the first things we tackled was our values. 

Like many organisations, they had grown over time into an unwieldy list of twelve. While each one was important, together they lacked focus and were difficult to remember, communicate or embed across the organisation. 

MEERKATworks distilled those twelve values into five distinctive principles that everyone could understand, remember and use 

Those conversations reshaped our mission too. 

Our organisation has evolved significantly since we first defined it. We had become a stronger social enterprise while remaining firmly committed to our charitable purpose. Together, we reshaped our mission to reflect how Edinburgh Remakery created impact. 

Today our mission is: 

To reduce waste and protect our planet through repair, reuse and circular economy services, empowering businesses and communities while tackling digital and social exclusion. 

For us, this perfectly captures the balance at the heart of Edinburgh Remakery: creating environmental impact through commercially sustainable circular economy services while generating social impact by empowering people, tackling digital exclusion and strengthening communities. 

Tone of Voice 

Perhaps one of the biggest transformations, however, came through our tone of voice. 

Over time, our communications had become passive. We informed people rather than inspiring them. We were helpful, but not memorable. We explained our work instead of leading conversations. 

As MEERKATworks gently pointed out, we’d become a little… beige. It was honest feedback, and exactly what we needed. 

Together, we developed a tone of voice that better reflects the organisation we are today. 

Our communications are now: 

• • Clear – easy to understand and accessible to everyone. 

• • Active – confident, purposeful and leading change. 

• • Human – connecting with people through authentic stories. 

• • Engaging – conversational, optimistic and occasionally playful. 

• • Purpose-led – always grounded in our mission and impact. 

The result is a voice that flexes naturally across communities, businesses, funders and partners while remaining unmistakably Edinburgh Remakery. 

The impact 

The work MEERKATworks delivered has had a lasting influence across our organisation. 

It connected our vision, purpose, mission, values and strategy into one compelling story. 

Our refreshed tone of voice has contributed to social media engagement increasing by more than 90%, with more confident, authentic and relatable communications helping more people connect with our work. 

It also shaped our wider organisational strategy. It informed our Theory of Change, strengthened our business pitch and helped us win support from funders, partners and commercial clients. 

Today, more than 200 organisations choose Edinburgh Remakery’s Social ITAD services. That income allows us to reduce waste, tackle digital exclusion and create lasting social impact across Scotland. Perhaps most importantly, everyone connected with Edinburgh Remakery, our team, trustees, volunteers, customers, partners and supporters, has a much clearer understanding of who we are, why we exist and the difference we’re here to make. 

Lasting impact 

Working with MEERKATworks wasn’t about creating a new brand or a new communications strategy. It was about uncovering the one that was already there. 

They challenged our thinking, sharpened our strategy and gave us the confidence to communicate with clarity, consistency and purpose. 

Four years on, Waste Less Live More. remains at the heart of everything we do. 

Our purpose guides our decisions. Our mission reflects the impact we create. Our values shape our culture. Our voice is stronger, clearer and unmistakably Edinburgh Remakery. 

Every day, those four words shape the decisions we make, the partnerships we build and the impact we create. They remind us why we exist: to help people and our planet thrive by wasting less and living more.

For purpose-led organisations looking to bring greater clarity, confidence and consistency to their brand, explore MEERKATworks’ services here:
Our Expertise: Media Planning and Buying Services – MEERKATworks