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The U.S. Bancorp Tower, Portland’s largest building, has earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum rating 鈥� the highest level of recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Owner Unico Properties has continuously updated 鈥淏ig Pink,鈥� as the building is also known, since it attained LEED silver status in 2009.

鈥淚t’s been a decade-long effort,鈥� said Brett Phillips, Unico’s vice president of sustainable and responsible investments.

Improvements included an elevator modernization 鈥� including a destination dispatch system that groups people together, resulting in fewer trips and reduced energy usage.

Unico also optimized the building’s boilers, allowing one of the two to remain turned off on most days. Natural gas usage has been 鈥渂asically cut in half,鈥� Phillips said.

The building, which was completed in 1983, has updated heating and cooling and LED lighting throughout. Data analytics allow building managers to adjust systems in real time and spot problems immediately, Phillips said.

Kimberly Lewis, a U.S. Green Building Council senior vice president, praised Unico for moving forward. Of 80 LEED platinum buildings in Portland, 鈥渧ery few have gone for recertification鈥� under LEED version 4.1, the latest set of guidelines, Lewis said Wednesday at an event to mark the achievement. LEED standards are updated periodically to raise the bar.

The U.S. Bancorp Tower has approximately 1.2 million square feet of commercial space on 42 floors. It’s Portland’s largest building by area, and the second-tallest, behind only the Wells Fargo Tower.