Businesses are being urged to help fund a project which aims to reduce the amount of energy consumed by Oxford's thousands of students.

The environment committee of Oxford University Student Union wants to address what it describes as the "culture of energy over-usage" in student homes and facilities.

To raise the project's profile, it has produced a series of promotional goods to spread the message.

The items, including door hangers, year planners and posters carrying energy-saving tips will be distributed over the next year.

The union has also persuaded colleges to back a scheme where students who install energy-saving measures, such as energy-efficient lightbulbs, are reimbursed.

Environment committee chairman Sally Caless said: "This is a university-wide campaign which aims to implement a lasting change to the culture of energy over-usage.

"But, as with any essentially charitable campaign, we need to secure financial backing.

"The costs would not be enormous, but we cannot cover them ourselves and we are consequently seeking corporate endorsement for the campaign.

"Oxford University uses a huge amount of energy and we're seeking to reduce this in very simple ways.

Any businesses keen to help the project should e-mail sarah.caless @mansf.ox.ac.uk