Global population and environmental trends demand a radical departure from current building and developmental processes. Applying total building performance thinking can reduce energy consumption, pollution and waste in existing and new construction by a factor of 4 and simultaneously can improve quality of life within buildings --measured through occupant satisfaction, health and productivity. The further development of advanced energy and water systems, and the application of appropriate technology and systems integration concepts will help to enable the elimination of `waste-streams', avoiding obsolescence, as well as managing industrial and agricultural nutrient streams. Instead of treating buildings and their contents as `pre-garbage', worse `pre toxic-waste', all material flows can be considered within life cycles for `cradle to cradle' use. These concepts can make major contributions towards the creation of more sustainable lifestyles with even greater quality in the industrialized countries and the development and implementation of sustainable urban and building infrastructures in rapidly emerging economies. Rather than the continued export of non-sustainable building solutions, this paper argues for the development and demonstration of such practices in the industrialized countries that would create a progressive `pull' to enable the appropriate implementation of new practices.

• sustainability, environment