Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has announced that it will invest 1 percent of its pooled endowment in a sustainable investments initiative and will seek additional gifts to match its pledge.

Created by investment management group Investure, the initiative, a co-mingled fiscal vehicle within the global equity fund, is devoted to investments in both public and private equity around the world that generate long-term social, environmental, and economic value. The initiative recognizes the likely scenario of sustainability soon becoming a primary global economic driver.

Dickinson is the third Investure client to join the initiative; the Rockefeller Brothers Fund will invest up to 10 percent of its current endowment in the initiative, while Middlebury College has committed 1 percent of its endowment with the goal of raising an additional $4 million. The effort will complement Dickinson's past efforts to pursue socially responsible investments, including the 2007 formation of a socially responsible investment discussion group.

"It is wonderful to have Dickinson College join us in the Sustainable Investments Initiative," said Rockefeller Brothers Fund president Stephen B. Heintz. "Our shared hope is that sustainable investing becomes a standard practice."