By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

A pair of local institutions will invest money into revolving green funds to finance future-energy efficiency upgrades.

The financial commitments made by Daemen College and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus are part of the Billion Dollar Green Challenge, set to launch today during the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education conference in Pittsburgh. The exact financial commitments made by Daemen and BNMC are not immediately known.

"The fund is set up to ensure the participant will always have a source of financing for sustainable projects," said David Cristantello, vice president of external relations at Daemen. "Ultimately, this will save the school money."

In total, 33 founding institutions have committed to invest more than $65 million in green revolving funds. The challenge, as its name implies, seeks to raise $1 billion. Early participants include Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, George Washington and Middlebury. Some of the institutions already operate green funds.

Daemen was invited by the challenge organizers to participate, due to its recent efforts to become a green-friendly school, Cristantello said. Involvement in the fund will raise Daemen's profile among potential donors, he said, adding, "The visibility this brings to a college, particularly a small institution like ours, give us great possibilities for getting assistance for our individual projects. Plus, institutionally and philosophically, we think it's the right thing to do."

Daemen is in the middle of retrofitting its old library into a new $5.5 million visual performing arts center. It aims to receive LEED silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for the project.