Last week Seattle's Bullitt Center won its Living Building Certification, becoming the only office building in the world so far to earn the distinction. Unico Properties director of sustainability Brett Phillips, who oversees operations at the property (snapped here at a Bisnow event), tells us the certification points to what's possible in the commercial property of the future. Namely, a regenerative design coupled with high-performance operations, resulting in a healthier, more efficient environment.

Winning Living Building Certification is no easy thing. It's an uber-green certification that requires a 12-month continuous performance period to demonstrate net-positive energy, water and waste, Brett explains. Among other things, the Bullitt Center’s energy performance is 89% more efficient than the national average; the building is carbon positive and offsets 35 metric tons of carbon by overproducing solar energy; the building captures all the water that hits the site and reuses it to flush toilets; and it bagged the 2014 Golden Dumpster Award by BOMA, CleanScapes and Seattle Public Utilities for significant waste reduction.