Service
Sustainability
The Office of Sustainability is a City-led effort to create a healthier, greener, and more resilient city for all residents. The Office of Sustainability works with municipal departments, the Newark Environmental Commission, residents, and other public and private stakeholders to tackle environmental health and quality of life issues and to prepare our city for weather extremes to advance sustainability and climate resilience in Newark through a multi-pronged strategy.
1. Amplify Newark’s tree canopy
2. Increase access to nourishing, locally-grown food
3. Foster climate-resilient communities
4. Cultivate resident-led community transformation
The Office of Sustainability is dedicated to advancing the goals in the Sustainability Action Plan (2013) found here.
The Office of Sustainability team engages with residents through meaningful community building with multilingual staff with fluency in several languages commonly spoken by Newarkers including Portuguese and Spanish.
“All of Newark’s children should grow up in an environment that nurtures them. This means getting dangerous toxins out of our neighborhoods, and making sure families have access to the same environmental assets that their suburban counterparts enjoy – parks, playgrounds, trees, healthy food, affordable energy bills, working water infrastructure, and green job opportunities,” said Mayor Ras J. Baraka.
Newark's Tree Canopy Initiative
The Office of Sustainability is currently leading an initiative to plant thousands of trees across all five wards in the coming years. The team is responsible for growing the city’s tree canopy throughout the city, maintaining the health and survival of every tree in the city and overseeing a citywide public engagement effort to ensure citizen involvement in Newark’s tree planting initiatives.
The Sustainable Food System Program
The Sustainable Food Systems program builds a robust and inclusive food economy for residents to have affordable fresh produce. The program advances policies and programs that increase local fresh and nourishing food production while enhancing Newark's network of urban farmers/gardeners and food producers. It is guided by the principles of environmental and social justice, local self-sufficiency, and of food sovereignty through urban agriculture in the City of Newark.
A central initiative of the Sustainable Food Systems Program is the Nourishing Newark Community Grants Program. Launched in 2022, Nourishing Newark increases Newark's community members' access to healthy and nourishing food through the expansion of sustainable urban food cooperatives and other community-based healthy food distribution channels.
Climate Resilient Communities
It’s been well-documented that climate change doesn’t affect all communities equally, and Newark, NJ is a perfect case study for the connection between climate education and mitigation, and environmental justice. In recent years,thousands of Essex County homes, schools, and businesses confronted major power outages and faced costly property damage following severe flooding caused by historic cyclones like Superstorm Sandy, Hurricanes Ida and Irene, and Tropical Storm Isaias. This initiative provides solutions for Newark communities most affected by severe storms.
In partnership with Solar One, the Newark Resilient Initiative, combines youth-led community education and the community emergency response hubs through the construction and the deployment of small-scale solar power generation and storage systems to provide supplemental power to local residents when the electrical grid is down.
Key Components:
- Community Energy hubs: Solar chargers were placed in all five wards of the city, fostering the creation of a strong solar community throughout Newark
- Youth-focused education: High school students trained to build and solar panels and solar chargers and participated in a summer internship program
- Community Engagement: Eight community engagement events focused on recruiting and promoting solar chargers. The community was actively involved in training sessions, demonstrations, and disaster preparedness exercises.
- Stakeholder Involvement: Partnerships with a wide array of local and regional stakeholders (e.g., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), community-based organizations, community gardens/farms, health centers, etc.).
Clean Energy Program
Newark's reliance on fossil fuel-generated energy and transportation has led to significant economic challenges and negative public health outcomes for residents. Many residents face energy burdens, which refers to spending a high percentage of their household income on energy bills, along with health issues related to poor air quality from transportation and building emissions. By transitioning to energy-efficient systems, renewable energy sources, and electric vehicles (EVs), we can reduce energy bills and lower the overall cost of living for our residents while also improving their health and well-being.
The Office of Sustainability is addressing these concerns by adopting and implementing a Community Energy Plan (CEP) that supports a fair and equitable transition to an energy-efficient and renewable-energy-sourced Newark, including the following initiatives:
- Reducing Harmful Emissions
- Increasing Energy Efficiency
- Fostering a Clean Energy Economy
- Developing a GreenWorkforce
We recognize that reaching our clean energy goals in a way that maximally benefits Newark residents will necessitate a sustained effort and active participation from all individuals in Newark. Facilitating planning processes that prioritize public education, involvement,and decision making are core commitments of the Office of Sustainability.
Resident-Led Community Transformation
Newark's Love Your Block Mini-grant program connects residents with City departments and community organizations to implement neighborhood-level beautification and community-building projects. The overall goal of the Love Your Block program is to prevent blight and revitalize our neighborhoods one block at a time.
The City of Newark has awarded over fifty community-based groups funding to complete projects ranging from beautification initiatives, community clean ups, arts activation, and improved signage.
