Sustainable infrastructure has numerous economic, social and environmental benefits to the local government, the business community, and the public.

Economic

• Lower life cycle costs.  Sustainable infrastructure generally has lower life cycle costs than traditional systems do. For example, ”right sizing” more accurately matches capacity with demand and avoids costs of over-sized systems; distributed systems can enable phased implementation (or “build as you go” with development), which spreads capital investments over time; demand-side management can also reduce or delay capital expansions.
• Greater return on investment.  Integrating energy with other infrastructure can create greater value for investments, for example by creating new revenue streams such as energy from sewer heat recovery. This leads to new commercial and industrial opportunities.

Social

• More aesthetically pleasing community amenities. Green infrastructure offers new opportunities for beautification of public spaces
• Support for other sustainability projects. An infrastructure project can be the catalyst for other programs. For example, ecological wastewater treatment facilities often include publicly accessible educational venues. Demand management programs, an integral part of sustainable infrastructure, can also build community understanding and appreciation of the importance of energy and water conservation and water-quality protection. 
• Less risk to natural disasters. Investing in more diverse and sustainable infrastructure systems gives communities more options if something goes wrong. If one system is interrupted, loads can be shared or resources can be substituted at the scale most appropriate.
• More efficient land use. Sometimes it can be a problem to locate new growth in specific locations because of the need to pump sewage or extend pipelines. On-site infrastructure can overcome these issues and allow cities to more effectively use their land base.
• Support for business and job growth. Sustainable and integrated infrastructure can attract new business and local jobs. For example, a wastewater treatment system could create markets for non-potable water redistribution, landscaping, decorative plants, or waste heat recovery.

Environmental

• Lower indirect impacts to ecosystems. By improving system efficiencies, green infrastructure reduces the need for energy and other resources and lowers greenhouse gas emissions.
• Less raw resource extraction and harvesting. Recycling and converting wastes into useable resources minimizes the need for new resources.
• Lower solid waste disposal impacts. Recycling and converting wastes avoids water pollution problems that come from leachate and the direct greenhouse gas emissions caused by decomposition of material in landfills.
• Enhanced biodiversity and air quality. Ecological infrastructure systems can create new habitat and actually enhance environmental quality – for example, an urban forest can provide stormwater management functions, provide habitat, and remove air pollution.

Approaches and Principles discusses how some of these benefits of sustainable infrastructure can be achieved.