Office of Energy and Sustainability

Eco Rep Program

In efforts to reach carbon neutrality, the Office of Energy and Sustainability (OES) launched the Oberlin College Eco Rep program in fall 2023. Eco Rep programs exist at numerous colleges and universities across the United States and have shown to be effective ways to shift student culture toward pro-sustainability behaviors through education and outreach.

The Oberlin College Eco Reps are current students who help to enhance knowledge and skills to successfully communicate sustainability to their peers.  They increase overall student awareness of environmental actions, effect individual and group change on campus, and institutionalize environmental stewardship within the student body. Eco-Reps are assigned based on Residential Cluster including First Year Residential Experience, Second Year Residential Experience, and Multicultural and Thematic Experience.

What do Eco Reps do?

  • Eco Reps interact with fellow students to implement sustainability programming, specifically in residence halls. Eco Reps respond to questions and concerns about existing sustainability programs and guide students to the right resources on campus. 
  • Eco Reps host small meetings and conversations to help students better understand existing sustainability initiatives such as recycling and composting, the Green Room program, Ecolympics, alternative transportation options, as well as to encourage behavior change as it relates to heating and cooling, and water and electricity use.
  • Eco Reps help familiarize students broadly with the Sustainable Infrastructure Program (SIP) and the goal of carbon neutrality and teach best practices on a day-to-day basis to reduce energy consumption.
  • Eco Reps organize residence hall or cluster wide events oriented towards promoting a targeted aspect of sustainability, and inspiring dialogue on the same.
  • Eco Reps work closely with RAs, custodial staff, and other College staff to better understand new opportunities as well as current challenges to bridge gaps.
  • Eco Reps actively seek new small-scale initiatives that can be implemented and interact with other Eco Reps to ensure a collective pursuit of the same goal. Eco Reps foster a supportive and informed environment for sustainability and hold space for the ideas that may be presented by fellow students.


Get Involved
If you would like to learn more about becoming an Oberlin College Eco Rep, please email the Office of Energy and Sustainability at sustainability@oberlin.edu