Public lighting has been around for over a century and over the last 40 years has seen a significant increase in the in the equipment installed, the energy used and the light pollution emitted.The two primary reasons for providing public lighting are (1) to reduce nighttime traffic accidents, and (2) to reduce crime and the fear of crime.There is no doubt that public lighting can address these issues, but in a period of soaring energy prices and ageing lighting assets many authorities and cities are finding that public lighting is unaffordable.In the last 20 years there have been significant technology advancements in the automotive industry, such as brighter headlights, ABS braking, collision avoidance systems, etc.to improve road safety.In the case of crime reduction the introduction of low ambient light CCTV cameras has reduced the need for excessive public lighting.A medium sized city or district might have as many as 50,000 lighting units, of which the annual energy could be $4Million with a further $2M for maintenance and emitting up to 15,000tonnes CO2 per annum.Many lighting installations have been over designed, poorly maintained and lack appropriate justification.Using a five-step process many public lighting systems can reduce costs by 30% and CO2 emissions by 25%.This five-step approach considers each of (1) Is lighting essential, (2) Designing for optimum lighting, (3) Introduction of technology, (4) Efficiency in procurement, (5) Managing the asset.