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NNGreenTeam

CityOfNewportNews

This plan is made possible through collaboration between city departments, local businesses, community organizations, and residents.

Newport News Office of Sustainability

Interested in Learning More? Contact Us!

Why a Climate Action Plan?

Every action counts - together we can make a difference!

The Climate Action Plan builds upon the 2013 Roadmap to Sustainability Plan to strengthen our ability to build healthier, more resilient and economically thriving communities that maximizes benefits for everyone.

2400 Washington Avenue, Newport News, VA 23607

nngreen@nnva.gov | 757-269-2732

NN Green—A Sustainable Community

Climate Action Plan

Building a Resilient Future Together

Launching

Share Your Expertise as a...

Local Business — Renewable energy adoption, waste reduction, and fleet upgrades
Nonprofit or Faith-Based Organization — Grassroots outreach, education, and advocacy
School or University — Research partnerships and student-led sustainability projects
Resident or Neighborhood Group — Home energy efficiency, recycling participation, and urban gardening

COMMUNITY MEETINGS TO BE ANNOUNCED

UPDATE

How You Can Help Today:

• Save energy at home and work

• Use public transit, bike, or carpool

• Reduce, reuse, and recycle

• Participate in community workshops

• Share your ideas with city leaders

Fall

2025

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RESEARCH GOAL

We used a mixed-methods research strategy that moved from thinking big picture to zooming in. Beginning with the City-Wide Community Survey and focus groups, we then designed and distributed targeted smaller surveys and conducted one-on-one interviews with residents most affected by our research topic. This approach helped us refine problem areas and uncover deeper, more relevant insights.

METHODOLOGY

143 Residents Engaged

57 Interviews
6 Surveys
2 Focus Groups

7 City Stakeholder Interviews
6 CBO and Local Small Business Interviews

ENGAGEMENT

DATA SCIENCE AT WORK

To better understand residents’ experiences with economic mobility and healthy environments in order to improve programs and services.

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The City of Newport News was selected as a recipient of a Community Forestry Revitalization Program grant from the Virginia Department of Forestry

Newport News is partnering with the Green Infrastructure Center through a two-year conservation strategic planning process, including:

Comprehensive mapping of our urban forest
Environmental benefit analysis
Code and ordinance audits
Development of a strategic tree canopy plan

The plan provides a clear path for the City to enhance its tree canopy, strengthen community partnerships, and improve eligibility for future grant funding to support tree planting and replacement.

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FloodREADY Homes

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The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation approved the full request for $1.03 million to provide resilience assessments and recommendations to 150 homeowners (over 3 years) in our most vulnerable, flood-prone neighborhoods.

Program Goal:

Provide property owners with flood mitigation recommendations such as elevation of mechanical & electrical equipment, sealing of HVAC ducts to prevent water damage, installing flood vents, etc.
Provide property owners with an elevation certificate
Use results to get federal funding for a much larger program citywide to include the installation of recommended flood mitigation practices
Test what flood protection strategies work best and cost the least
Close the service gap between public and private assistance by offering assistance to private property owners via the grant award.

Who Gets Help

Low-Income residents in high-flood-risk neighborhoods

Why it Matters:

90% of Newport News neighborhoods have reported flooding though 311 calls
Changing conditions will make flooding worse, so we need to act now
Program helps residents who need it most but have the fewest resources

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Virginia Conservation Assistance Program

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City Electric Vehicles & Charging Stations

235 Hybrid Vehicles, 59 Propane Conversion Vehicles, 4 Electric Vehicles in Fleet
Reduced Gasoline Consumption by 103,800 gallons in FY25
Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 972 metric tons
On track to avoid 350,000 gallons of gasoline and 3,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from FY22 through FY26

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Peake Childhood Center Going Solar

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Newport News Public Schools Propane Bus Program

In FY26, NNPS received 12 new propane buses. putting the fleet at 180 propane buses out of 306 Buses. School bus fleet is over 50% propane powered. It is the largest propane school bus fleet in Virginia.
2024FY Average Diesel: $2.53 per gallon
2024FY Average Propane: $1.28 per gallon
2024FY Average savings: $0.05 per mile driven
2024FY propane miles driven: 2,514,246 miles
2024FY Cost savings of: $125,612
2024 Alternative fuel tax credit: $239,901.45

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Solar at Newport News Public Schools�

After reading a book about a girl who lacked fuel to cook, two fourth-grade Integrative STEM classes at Newport News Public Schools harnessed the sunlight to energize their project and their learning to build solar ovens. Students followed the engineering design process and applied the principles of solar thermal energy, to build, test, and optimize their oven designs. The students presented their projects to solar professionals and school staff. During the event, students also learned about solar energy technology and careers in clean energy. Experiences like these not only deepen students' understanding of STEM concepts but also inspire the next generation of innovators to create a more sustainable future.

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