The Resource Efficiency Program (REP) is a peer education program based in Harvard's undergraduate Houses and Dorms.
REP representatives educate their peers on issues such as energy, waste, water, food, and more through projects, community-building events, competitions, and educational campaigns. The program also works with the administration to help make facilities and operations more sustainable.
REP Programs and Campaigns
Green Cup Competition for the Houses
Green Cup is an inter-House competition that runs throughout the academic year. There are three categories that each carry a cash prize—Participation, Resource Conservation, and Greenest House Committee (Green HoCo)—plus an awesome, giant trophy for the overall winner.
How Your Habits Can Save Energy
Top 5 energy-reducing tips for Houses and Dorms
- Use an LED in your desk lamp - Contact your REP to get one for FREE!
- Take shorter showers, even by one minute!
- Wash your laundry in cold water (Bright Colors setting).
- Report leaky windows, broken storm windows, and broken radiator controls. Submit a work order via PRESTO right away!
- Power down and unplug electronics when not in use, and turn off lights when you leave your room (especially over long weekends and holiday breaks!)
How Your REP Can Help You
Connect with your REP!
- Interested in sustainability or have an idea for improvements? Your REP is the perfect peer to help connect you with like-minded people across campus. Send them an email!
- Keep an eye open for a REP-led tabling event held several times per semester, we usually bring a few snacks to create a welcoming atmosphere for engagement.
- Wondering about changes happening in your house or dorm? Each REP has built relationships with the Building Managers, Sustainability Tutors, and Housing Committees (HoCos) and can help direct your question.
- Looking to find leadership opportunities and to get plugged into the campus sustainability network? REPs are paid student sustainability advocates who make a notable difference in their house or dorm communities. Undergraduates from any year are welcome to apply at this link
Explore what Harvard is doing:
LEED Rating System: LEED-CI
LEED Rating: SILVER
Date Completed: December, 2009
Burton Lab is an approximately 1,500 square foot biochemistry lab located on the 3rd floor of the Harvard Bio Labs Building at 16 Divinity Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Professor...
LEED Rating System: LEED-CI
LEED Rating: GOLD
Date Completed: March, 2010
The Northwest Labs Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) renovations involved the fit-out of 22,500 square feet of lab and office space. The intent of the project was to accommodate eight...
LEED Rating System: LEED for Commercial Interiors
Certification Level: Gold
Date Completed: 2013
Laboratories are typically regarded as an energy intensive building typology. Many of these buildings have extended occupancy...
LEED Rating System: LEED-Cl
LEED Rating: Gold
Date Completed: June 2017
The FAS Girguis Laboratory Renovation project scope includes renovations within the 3rd floor of the Bio Labs Building and includes select demolition and...
Undergraduate Resource Efficiency Program (REP) News
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February 8, 2021
Recent alumna Sierra Tseng virtually caught up with alumna Dr. Stacey Blondin, AB ’07 to discuss her career path, ideal food systems, and the intersection between health, food, and...
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February 20, 2018
Sophia Watkins ’15 is the Founder of Forest Fund , a startup that tests practical solutions to prevent or reverse the loss of Amazon rainforest and the surrounding ecoregions. We asked her a...
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November 8, 2017
Jack Smith, the Adams House REP, shares his experience with Community Supported Agriculture at Clark Farm.
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March 7, 2017
Leavens breaks down the nuances of how a food's carbon footprint relates to the distance it travels from farm to plate.
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February 23, 2017
Joseph Winters, College '20 According to British ethicist Alisdair Cochrane in his entry for the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy , “environmental ethics concerns human beings’ ethical...
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September 29, 2016
Student’s project would put Eliot students in the room that’s not too hot, not too cold, but just right for them...
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August 26, 2016
Molly Leavens, College '19, recounts her experiences and unexpected teaching moments interning with an environmental nonprofit in Peru.
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May 3, 2016
Student reflections from a design thinking workshop held at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
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February 8, 2021Recent alumna Sierra Tseng virtually caught up with alumna Dr. Stacey Blondin, AB ’07 to discuss her career path, ideal food systems, and the intersection between health, food, and...
-
February 20, 2018Sophia Watkins ’15 is the Founder of Forest Fund , a startup that tests practical solutions to prevent or reverse the loss of Amazon rainforest and the surrounding ecoregions. We asked her a...
-
November 8, 2017Jack Smith, the Adams House REP, shares his experience with Community Supported Agriculture at Clark Farm.
-
March 7, 2017Leavens breaks down the nuances of how a food's carbon footprint relates to the distance it travels from farm to plate.
-
February 23, 2017Joseph Winters, College '20 According to British ethicist Alisdair Cochrane in his entry for the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy , “environmental ethics concerns human beings’ ethical...
-
September 29, 2016Student’s project would put Eliot students in the room that’s not too hot, not too cold, but just right for them...
-
August 26, 2016Molly Leavens, College '19, recounts her experiences and unexpected teaching moments interning with an environmental nonprofit in Peru.
-
May 3, 2016Student reflections from a design thinking workshop held at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
