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The environmental impacts of buildings have the potential to erode quality of life. Buildings and the infrastructure that supports them consume open space and displace habitat, and our communities increasingly are being overcome with traffic and congestion. The quality of our indoor environments can inhibit productivity and even threaten our health. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), nearly one-third of all buildings suffer from "sick building" syndrome. Applying the principles of sustainability to building development can greatly mitigate these negative effects without significant cost increases or program sacrifices. But in order for sustainable development to be effective, it must be implemented from the very inception of a project. Sustainable design requires a holistic view of land, infrastructure, and buildings in order to use material, energy, and water resources efficiently, improve the health of ecosystems, and address health issues relating to the indoor environment. For nearly every conventional building product and system used today, there are environmentally preferable alternatives. In most cases, there are practical and affordable choices with significantly improved environmental performance. Effective sustainable development can lead to a variety of economic benefits as well. These include the economic benefits of energy, water, and materials savings as well as reduced maintenance and other operational costs. There are also numerous studies that connect healthy building to increased productiv- ity, with green buildings producing increases of from 2 percent to 15 percent. Environmentally friendly buildings provide additional benefits to building owners and occupants by limiting risks such as liability due to poor indoor air quality. Finally, environmentally friendly buildings can contribute to positive public relations. Public concern about these issues continues to grow, and with it comes increasing de- mand for solutions and support for those who are seeking those solutions. There are several key strategies for achieving sustainable development, all of which represent a depar- ture from the traditional, linear design and construction process. Integrated Design provides a frame- work for applying the principles of sustainability to building design. Integrated design considers a building's design, structure, and systems in a holistic manner in an effort to optimize their interaction for economic and environmental benefits. Integrated design looks beyond the traditional, linear design pro- cess and simple questions of system sizing and specification, and sees the building's design, envelope, lighting, and HVAC as integral to occupant comfort, satisfaction and operating performance. Effective integrated design considers and solves a variety of relevant issues simultaneously. An essential aspect of successful integrated design is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), including life-cycle cost analysis in which the net present value of design options are assessed as investments. LCA is an inclusive approach to assessing the environmental and financial impact of a program, facility, or group of facilities, and encompasses planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance over the useful life of a facility. The goal of LCA is to achieve the highest, most cost-effective environmental perform- ance possible over the life of the project. When integrated design and life cycle assessment are com- bined, better and more affordable development strategies emerge. The primary tool used to apply and measure sustainable principles in the development of City facilities is the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM) Green Building Rating System® for New Construction, or LEED-NC. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council representing all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue to contribute to its evolution. The City of Eugene has been an active member of the USGBC since 2000. L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M050427\S050427B.doc