Expenditure on infrastructure such as wastewater treatment systems represents investment in what are long-life assets, meaning there is good reason to make decisions based on whole life costs rather than just the upfront capital costs. But what if more efficient equipment could reduce overall costs and at the same time deliver much-needed cuts in greenhouse gas emissions? A recent report by international technology company Xylem provides an assessment to support precisely this idea. Keith Hayward takes a closer look at the findings.