Smart Business Challenge

Any organization in Ames (businesses, non-profits, associations, churches, etc.) are welcome to join the challenge to pursue sustainability goals. As a free program run through the City's sustainability office, we serve as a sounding board and accountability source for organizations that are interested in sustainability in the community.

Organizations begin the challenge by signing up on The City of Ames sustainability page. The form will automatically send the Smart Business Challenge team an email. Then, the organization will be contacted by the team to set up a sit-down meeting with the organization’s leaders to discuss a plan for adopting sustainability policies within their business.

 Once the meeting is complete, the team will complete three post-meeting items and maintain communication with businesses.

1. The first is to highlight the organization’s achievements and thank them. This is done through a short social media post highlighting the organization's efforts. SBC Interns will create the short post and send it to the city communications department for posting on City social media.
2. The second item is that the interns will send a follow up thank you email with targeted resources to support the organizations’ goals. Resources may include websites, handouts, and connections to other SBC members who can assist with their goals.
3. Lastly, the SBC team will update participant contact information, recognition for social media post, most recent communication, and post-meeting goals for future follow-up.

After one year of being in the challenge, the SBC team will call organizations to check in on their progress and reconnect them to resources as needed. This process is repeated after 2 years. At the third year, the original meeting is repeated with all of the associated after-action items. This is known as a Reset Meeting.

The Smart Business Challenge team wants to gather organizations together throughout the year to share insightful information, promote city sustainability resources, and create a sense of community regarding the challenge. The team plans to do so in the following manner:

Two large group meetings per year, called the SBC Participant Forums, are an open format for promoting collaboration among the organizational community in Ames. These Forums will operate as follows:

• Businesses, organizations, and people around Ames are invited
• New challenge members will be recognized
• Each meeting will have a seasonal theme - (Ex. energy heating and cooling, pollinators, environment community events)
• Smart Energy Interns may provide brief informational presentations
• Events will be hosted at challenge participant-owned spaces or community center in the Ames community

As a part of the Smart Business Challenge team's ongoing effort to support all facets of sustainability within the Ames business community, the team worked with City of Ames Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion coordinator, Casandra Eames, to incorporate belongingness in the Ames Smart Business Challenge. 

The video below details how the challenge recognizes and encourages member businesses to foster a deeper sense of belonging and community in Ames:

 

Business Sustainability Spotlights are a chance for member-organizations to highlight some of their sustainability achievements, while also discussing some background on their organizational goals. The SBC team encourages all members to reach out to film a spotlight with your organization. 

Highlighted below are some examples of the Business Sustainability Spotlights that have been filmed in the past. 

Business Sustainability Spotlight: McFarland Clinic

Business Sustainability Spotlight: Worldly Goods