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Veenita B. Bleznak Joins Vertical Screen as Chief Compliance Officer

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 21:38:40 GMT

(Warminster, Pa., October 19, 2012) – Vertical Screen, Inc., one of the nation’s leading providers of applicant screening services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Veenita B. Bleznak as Chief Compliance Officer.

Ms. Bleznak will take over responsibility for developing, implementing and overseeing the company’s corporate compliance efforts in conjunction with the CEO, in-house counsel and senior vice president of investigative compliance. She will also help Vertical Screen continue to provide guidance to clients regarding legal and regulatory compliance issues.

Ms. Bleznak has more than 18 years of experience as a business lawyer and advisor with large, global law firms and in-house in both emerging and established environments. Her comprehensive legal experience spans a diverse range of industries including pharmaceuticals, venture investment and advisory services, technology, real estate, retail, sports, manufacturing and marketing.

“Veenita’s wealth of expertise and legal experience makes her an integral addition to Vertical Screen’s senior management team,” said Vertical Screen CEO Tony D’Orazio. “I am confident that she will be an asset to our team and help support our efforts, as well as our clients’ efforts, to ensure compliance with all laws and regulations applicable to the screening industry.”

Ms. Bleznak graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she served as editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and from Rutgers College, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was a Rutgers College General Honors Scholar. She is active in political and philanthropic fundraising and serves on the business advisory board for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

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About Vertical Screen, Inc.
Vertical Screen, Inc., based in Warminster, Pa. and Marlton N.J., is a family of applicant screening companies that specializes in developing customized screening programs for the world’s leading organizations. Its services include background checks, fingerprinting, drug testing and occupational health screening and DOT compliance services, as well as a number of industry specific products and services. Founded in 1989, its three subsidiaries are Business Information Group (BIG), which serves the insurance and financial services industry; Certiphi Screening, which serves the healthcare community; and Truescreen, which focuses on the general business sector. Vertical Screen’s sister company, Fieldprint, provides fingerprinting services. Visit us online at www.verticalscreen.com.

To Cut Office Stress, Try Butterflies and Meditation?

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:52:48 GMT

Some 70% of Americans know the feeling: Some time during the workday, the stomach tightens. The heart races. Palms grow damp, breathing becomes shallow.

Job pressures are the No. 2 cause of stress after financial worries, a recent survey shows. And while most of us struggle to manage the stress of a demanding boss or a mounting workload on our own, more employers are trying to help. Efforts include earnest-sounding techniques like "mindful communication" and "cognitive behavioral training" as well as office designs featuring leafy, plant-covered walls.

At Vertical Screen, a Warminster, Pa., maker of employment-screening programs, natural light streams through the building's three glass walls; 900 plants adorn a "living wall," a kind of indoor vertical garden; and an outdoor employee cafe sits at the edge of a five-acre meadow of wildflowers.

BIG Presented with SILA’s Organization of the Year Award

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:42:50 GMT

(Warminster, Pa., October 12, 2012) — Business Information Group, Inc. (BIG), which provides screening services exclusively to the financial services industry, was presented with the Securities & Insurance Licensing Association’s (SILA) Organization of the Year Award at SILA’s 2012 National Education Conference.

SILA’s purpose is to bring together licensing experts whose occupations encompass all aspects of insurance licensing and securities registration, including, but not limited to, the licensing and registration of agents, agencies, adjusters, brokers, companies, producers, securities dealers and third party administrators; and such auxiliary occupations as administration, regulation, testing, education, publishing and reporting as related to the financial services industry.

SILA’s Organization of the Year Award is granted to an excellent organization that demonstrates leadership and dedication in continuous service to the insurance and/or securities industries. BIG has been active in SILA for more than a decade, including exhibiting and speaking at its National Education Conference. BIG Senior Account Manager Matthew Braunbeck also serves as SILA Vendor Relations Chair – a post previously held by BIG Senior Business Developer Brian Ferguson. In that role, both Matt and Brian have helped to set SILA’s direction in terms of educational programming and member services.

“We are pleased to be recognized for our support of SILA and our leadership in providing innovative screening services to the financial services industry,” said BIG CEO Tony D’Orazio. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with SILA and to contributing our industry knowledge and experience to SILA initiatives that help to move the industry forward.”

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About Business Information Group
Business Information Group (BIG) is part of the Vertical Screen family of applicant screening companies. BIG provides customized screening services, including background investigations, fingerprinting services, drug testing and occupational health screening and international screening, to financial services firms worldwide. BIG utilizes technologically advanced resources to bring the financial services industry next-generation solutions for fast, accurate and convenient screening programs. To learn more, visit BIG at www.bigreport.com or call 800.369.2612.

Vertical Screen General Counsel Named to Global Organization’s Board of Directors

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:52:43 GMT

(Warminster, Pa., October 1, 2012) — Vertical Screen, Inc., one of the nation’s leading providers of applicant screening services, is pleased to announce that its in-house General Counsel, N. Alexander Erlam, has been elected to the Association of Corporate Counsel’s (ACC) Board of Directors.

The ACC is the world’s largest organization serving the professional and business interests of its more than 30,000 member attorneys who practice in the legal departments of corporations, associations and other private-sector organizations. Erlam was officially voted onto the board at the ACC’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. on September 30, 2012.

Erlam is a past president of the Delaware Valley Corporate Counsel Association (DELVACCA), the Philadelphia-area chapter of ACC. DELVACCA was recognized as the ACC’s Large Chapter of the Year in 2008 and again under Erlam’s presidency in 2010. In 2007, Erlam was awarded the organization’s prestigious “Pursuit of Excellence” award for his leadership excellence in helping to create award-winning programs and events for the chapter.

In his role at Vertical Screen, Erlam directs the company’s legal affairs and is responsible for maintaining its compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. He serves as an expert resource to clients on legal and regulatory developments and case law. Erlam is a leading consumer reporting law expert and practices in the area of contracts, privacy, employment law, and employer-related immigration law, as well as general human resources expertise. Erlam has served as the company’s General Counsel since 2004.

Erlam is a graduate of Villanova University and the Temple University School of Law. Erlam is a frequent and noted speaker on employment law topics. He has written articles and given hundreds of seminars to management and human resources professionals on employment law topics.

“I am honored to be elected by the national ACC membership to the organization’s board of directors. I look forward to working with my colleagues around the country and with the ACC leadership, and to bringing some of the ideas that have brought us success at the local chapter level to the national stage for the betterment of the entire organization,” Erlam said.

Members of the ACC Board of Directors serve up to two three-year terms of service. During their tenure, board members share the ACC’s mission to promote the common professional and business interests of in-house counsel who work for corporations, associations and other private-sector organizations through information, education, networking opportunities and advocacy initiatives.

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About Vertical Screen, Inc.
Vertical Screen, Inc., based in Warminster, Pa. and Marlton N.J., is a family of applicant screening companies that specializes in developing customized screening programs for the world’s leading organizations. Its services include background checks, fingerprinting, drug testing and occupational health screening and DOT compliance services, as well as a number of industry specific products and services. Founded in 1989, its three subsidiaries are Business Information Group (BIG), which serves the insurance and financial services industry; Certiphi Screening, which serves the healthcare community; and Truescreen, which focuses on the general business sector. Vertical Screen’s sister company, Fieldprint, provides fingerprinting services. Visit us online at www.verticalscreen.com.

About ACC
The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is a global bar association that promotes the professional and business interests of in-house counsel through information, education, networking opportunities and advocacy initiatives. The association, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, has over 30,000 members employed by over 10,000 organizations in more than 75 countries. ACC connects its members to the people and resources necessary for personal and professional growth. For more information, visit www.acc.com and follow ACC on Twitter http://twitter.com/ACCinhouse. By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel.®

Sustainability Spotlight Vertical Screen 360 Magazine

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:36:41 GMT

Tony D’Orazio is like a lot of people.

He’s a businessman who doesn’t think of himself as an environmental activist. But in the process of pursuing business goals, he’s discovered ways to have big impact. And the more he’s learned about sustainability, the more he wants to do.

As CEO of Vertical Screen, Inc., an applicant screening company in Warminster, Pennsylvania, D’Orazio recently moved more than 300 employees into a new 50,000-square-foot LEED Platinum Certified headquarters building.

“We’d been growing for years and I needed to make a decision: lease another building or build new. We couldn’t find the right space to lease, so I was stuck with the other option. Everybody knows that built structures have a huge negative impact on the environment if they’re done in the standard way. I felt a personal responsibility to build in an environmentally responsible way,” he says.

Vertical Screen Launches Enhanced Corporate Website

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:11:00 GMT

(Warminster, Pa., February 6, 2012) — Vertical Screen, Inc., one of the nation’s leading providers of applicant screening services, is pleased to announce the launch of its newly redesigned corporate website, www.verticalscreen.com.

The new site provides information about the Vertical Screen family of companies, including links to each of the three subsidiary websites — Business Information Group, which focuses on the financial services industry; Certiphi Screening, which serves the healthcare community; and Truescreen, which focuses on the general business sector — as well as to Vertical Screen’s sister company Fieldprint, which provides fingerprinting services. In addition to company information, the new site features an enhanced careers section, giving prospective employees a window into what it’s like to work at Vertical Screen. It also showcases Vertical Screen’s new Warminster, Pa. LEED Platinum certified headquarters and the unique collection of industrial landscape photography that is on display in the Warminster office.

“Considerable thought went into the design of our enhanced website,” said Vertical Screen CEO Tony D’Orazio. “The website is meant to highlight our company and its services, as well as our green building’s role in our commitment to the environment. I believe the site achieves those goals and delivers this critical information via a fresh, modern design.”

The website spotlights the LEED Platinum certified Vertical Screen headquarters building in Warminster, Pa. In November 2011, the building received a LEED Platinum score of 58 points, which made it the greenest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and tied it for the seventh-highest LEED score (NC 2.x and v2009) for a newly constructed office building in the United States and ninth highest in the world. Specifically, the website details its many green features, including the geothermal HVAC system, solar array and rainwater and daylight harvesting systems. Since the building opened on May 2, 2011, it has used more than 60 percent less energy and more than 70 percent less municipal water than a similar-sized traditional office building. The building’s real-time energy consumption can even be viewed through an online “Building Energy Dashboard” that is linked to the Vertical Screen website.

“We are committed to our mission of sustaining the planet by leaving the lightest mark possible with our building, and want to share our story in order to encourage others to follow the same path,” D’Orazio said.

Additionally, the website showcases the unique collection of fine art photography that is on display throughout the Vertical Screen headquarters building. The collection includes works by classic 20th century photographers, such as Alfred Stieglitz, Charles Sheeler, Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham, as well as contemporary artists, such as Edward Burtynsky, Robert Polidori, Massimo Vitali and Idris Khan. In depicting industrial landscapes, factories, refuse piles, oil wells and power plants, the collection asks the viewer to consider our impact on the planet.

“Ever since early humans built stone hearths to control their fires more than 230,000 years ago, we have been making our mark on the natural landscape. Every human need, aspiration and emotion - good and bad - has been materially expressed through our industrial landscape,” D’Orazio writes in the introduction to the collection on the website. “This collection aspires to provide a visual narrative of the mark we have made upon our natural landscape, as documented through fine art photography.”

The website catalogs each of the works featured in the collection, providing information about the work itself and a biography of each artist.

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About Vertical Screen, Inc.

Vertical Screen, Inc., based in Warminster, Pa. and Marlton N.J., is a family of applicant screening companies that specializes in developing customized screening programs for the world’s leading organizations. Its services include background checks, fingerprinting, drug testing and occupational health screening and DOT compliance services, as well as a number of industry specific products and services. Founded in 1989, its three subsidiaries are Business Information Group (BIG), which serves the insurance and financial services industry; Certiphi Screening, which serves the healthcare community; and Truescreen, which focuses on the general business sector. Vertical Screen’s sister company, Fieldprint, provides fingerprinting services. Visit us online at www.verticalscreen.com.

Vertical Screen Achieves Background Screening Credentialing Council Accreditation

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:49:18 GMT

(Warminster, Pa., October 31, 2011) — Vertical Screen, Inc. is pleased to announce it is now accredited by the Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC). The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) administers the BSCC and its Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP). Vertical Screen is a family of leading applicant screening companies, including: Business Information Group (BIG), which focuses on financial services firms; Certiphi Screening, which serves the healthcare community; and Truescreen, which focuses on the general business sector. Vertical Screen also has a sister company, Fieldprint, which provides fingerprinting services.

NAPBS created the BSAAP according to strict professional standards, including numerous quality requirements and measurements. The BSCC accreditation represents a background screening firm’s commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continual improvement.

To become BSCC accredited, background screening firms must pass a rigorous onsite audit, conducted by an independent auditing firm, of its policies and procedures in six critical areas: consumer protection, legal compliance, client education, product standards, service standards and general business practices. A copy of the policies, procedures and measurements used to determine accreditation is available at www.napbs.com.

“Achieving BSCC accreditation validates the high standards of quality, accuracy and timeliness to which we have always held ourselves,” said Vertical Screen President Stefan Keller. “We believe strongly in the principles of the BSAAP and are pleased to be part of this important screening industry initiative.”

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About Vertical Screen, Inc.
Vertical Screen, Inc., based in Warminster, Pa. and Marlton N.J., is a family of applicant screening companies that specialize in developing customized screening programs for the world’s leading organizations. Its services include background checks, fingerprinting, drug testing and occupational health screening and DOT compliance services, as well as a number of industry specific products and services. Founded in 1989, its three subsidiaries are Business Information Group (BIG), which serves the insurance and financial services industry; Certiphi Screening, which serves the healthcare community; and Truescreen, which focuses on the general business sector. Vertical Screen’s sister company, Fieldprint, provides fingerprinting services. Visit us online at www.verticalscreen.com.

About NAPBS®
Founded in 2003 as a non-profit trade association, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) represents the interests of more than 700 member companies around the world that offer tenant, employment and background screening. NAPBS provides relevant programs and training aimed at empowering members to better serve clients and maintain standards of excellence in the background screening industry, and presents a unified voice in the development of national, state and local regulations. For more information, visit www.napbs.com.

Governors Office Press Release

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:58:07 GMT

Harrisburg – A family of companies that screen job applicants before being hired will build a new “green” world headquarters in Warminster, Bucks County, creating more than 100 jobs over the next three years, Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today.

Vertical Screen Inc. will construct a 49,600 square-foot headquarters facility on the site of the former Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster. Once completed, the company will relocate its headquarters from a leased facility in Southampton, Bucks County. The project will create 104 new jobs within three years and retain 166 existing positions.

“When a company chooses to build its world headquarters in Pennsylvania and create more than 100 family-sustaining jobs, it’s great news in any economy,” said Governor Rendell. “As we work to recover from the recession, we must continue to invest in quality projects like this one to create jobs in Pennsylvania and leverage private-sector investment.”

The building is the first new construction project in Bucks County designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest achievable level in the U.S. Green Building Council’s sustainability rating system.

The Governor noted that his proposed budget invests money in proven job creation and economic development strategies that have helped keep Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate lower than the national average. The proposed budget increases funding for other job creation programs such as opportunity grants, customized job training, infrastructure development, and infrastructure facilities and improvement grants.

“Despite this tough economy and a tight budget situation, we must strive to do whatever is within our means to lay the foundation for strong economic growth and job creation as the economy recovers,” Governor Rendell added.

Vertical Screen is a family of applicant screening companies founded in 1989. Through its three wholly owned subsidiaries, Vertical Screen provides background investigations, fingerprinting, drug testing and occupational health screening and Department of Transportation compliance services to leading organizations worldwide.

“Keeping our headquarters in Bucks County demonstrates our commitment to our community, as does constructing a LEED Platinum-certified building. Constructing a green building will reap benefits for our company for many years to come in terms of energy savings, providing a better environment for our employees, enhancing our company’s reputation in the marketplace and helping make green buildings more mainstream,” said Vertical Screen CEO Tony D’Orazio.

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team, economic development professionals who work directly with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in the state. Pennsylvania provided Vertical Screen with a $3.05 million funding offer that includes a $2.25 million loan from the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, and an $800,000 loan from the Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund.

Since Governor Rendell took office in 2003, GAT has successfully completed 1,216 projects, resulting in commitments to create 129,886 new jobs and retain 304,341 existing positions. The commonwealth has offered more than $2.3 billion in assistance for these projects, which will leverage more than $16.8 billion in additional investment.

For more information on the Governor’s Action Team and other Department of Community and Economic Development programs, visit www.NewPA.com or call 1-866-466-3972.

Media contacts:
Luke Webber, DCED; 717-783-1132
Michael Smith, Governor’s Office; 717-783-1116

Building for the Future

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:07:42 GMT

On February 19, 2010, Vertical Screen, Inc. broke ground on a new headquarters building designed to be Bucks County’s ﬁrst new construction project to achieve LEED Platinum certiﬁcation, the highest achievable level in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) sustainability rating system. The building will be erected on the corners of Veterans Drive and Johnsville Boulevard at the former Naval Air Warfare Center, Warminster, PA. The land site is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone.

Citigroup is ﬁnancing Vertical Screen’s project. Vertical Screen also received $2.25 million from Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development’s Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority and $1 million from Bucks County Economic Development Corporation.

Vertical Screen is a family of applicant screening companies founded in 1989 that includes Business Information Group (BIG), which focuses on ﬁnancial services ﬁrms; Certiphi Screening, which serves the healthcare community; and Truescreen, which serves the general business sector. The company is currently in Southampton, Bucks County, PA. The new headquarters project will retain more than 150 existing jobs and create more than 100 new jobs over the next several years.

Vertical Screen Breaks Ground

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:58:42 GMT

(Warminster, Pa., February 19, 2010) — Vertical Screen, Inc. today broke ground on a new headquarters building designed to be Bucks County’s first new construction project to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest achievable level in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) sustainability rating system.

Vertical Screen is a family of applicant screening companies founded in 1989 that includes Business Information Group (BIG), which focuses on financial services firms; Certiphi Screening, which serves the healthcare community; and Truescreen, which serves the general business sector. The company is currently headquartered in Southampton, Bucks County, Pa. The new headquarters project will retain more than 150 existing jobs and create more than 100 new jobs over the next several years.

“LEED Platinum certification is an ambitious goal. But, I strongly believe it’s a fully achievable goal. It will reap benefits for our company for many years to come in terms of energy savings, providing a better environment for our employees, enhancing our company’s reputation in the marketplace and helping make green buildings more mainstream,” said Vertical Screen CEO Tony D’Orazio.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by dignitaries including U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, Pennsylvania State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, Pennsylvania State Rep. Bernie O’Neill, Governor’s Action Team Director Michael E. Rossman, Bucks County Commissioners Chairman Charles H. Martin, Bucks County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Robert F. Cormack and Warminster Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Gail E. Johnson.

The new 49, 600 ft building, which is being constructed on a 9-acre Brownfield site previously occupied by the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), includes a number of sustainable systems, such as a geothermal - more - HVAC system, photovoltaic solar panels, rainwater harvesting, day lighting systems, LED lighting and small wind turbines. It is expected that the building will consume approximately 50 to 60 percent less energy than a standard office building, in part because it features interrelated systems; for example, efficient lighting systems generate less heat, so the air conditioning system does not have to work as hard to cool the space. The new Vertical Screen headquarters building was designed by Erdy McHenry Architecture, LLC, a Philadelphia-based firm that is a leader in the field of green building design. The LEED Platinum certification process began during the building’s planning stages. Architecture and design teams reviewed LEED credit templates in five main areas of the project: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. Each item on each template is reviewed to determine which elements are already included in the project and which can be added or adjusted to earn more credits. Status is awarded by the USGBC based on the total number of LEED credits a building earns. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. The Vertical Screen project is on track to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest level available from the USGBC, upon the building’s completion.

Vertical Screen expects construction to span a timeframe of about one year, and aims to open the building in late 2010 or early 2011.

Vertical Screen Will Go Green

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:53:10 GMT

WARMINSTER — Vertical Screen Inc. is breaking ground on a new headquarters here at a time when only build-to-suit projects such as this are moving forward.

Vertical Screen is constructing a 49,600-square-foot building on nine acres it bought at the former Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster. The project was designed by Erdy McHenry Architecture and ReVision Architecture.

Vertical Screen Building Offers Bright Ideas

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:35:19 GMT

For as long as people have labored in offices, architects have been promising to make the American workplace more bearable. Yet, more often than not, employees spend their days chained to their desks under a nimbus of fluorescent tubes. The only thing recycled is the air, and windows are a mere rumor. People must resort to their computers to find out if it's raining.

The green movement has certainly brought some improvements to the world of the cubicle slave. Eager to win the sweepstakes run by the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program, employers will gladly install energy- and dollar-saving heating and cooling systems. They'll even amp up the window size. But that doesn't mean everyone gets a glimpse of the outside world between 9 and 5.

New Vertical Screen Headquarters

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:58:15 GMT

Few companies would put their mechanical room on display in their lobbies.

At Vertical Screen’s new headquarters, however, it’s one of the first things visitors see — after, of course, they notice the airplane hangar-shaped building itself.

But the glass-walled mechanical room and the odd building design are all part of CEO Tony D’Orazio’s quest to go green and educate the public in the process.

“People have to think about the environment,” D’Orazio said during a tour of the building earlier this week. “They have to think about what this building means.”

Vertical Screen provides background checks and employee screening services for financial institutions, health care organizations and other industries through three affiliated companies: Business Information Group, Certiphi Screening Inc. and Truescreen.

About 280 employees made the move from its former, much smaller headquarters in Upper Southampton to Warminster in late April. Another 80 or so work in Marlton, N.J.

Certiphi Screening Achieves Accreditation

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:45:07 GMT

(Warminster, Pa., November 2, 2011) — The applicant screening firm Vertical Screen, Inc. has just been awarded LEED Platinum Certification for its new, state-of-the-art world headquarters building. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum is the highest sustainability designation granted by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Under the LEED New Construction (NC) v2.2 rating system, Vertical Screen’s LEED Platinum score of 58 points makes the building the greenest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and ties it for the seventh-highest LEED score (NC 2.x and v2009) for a newly constructed office building in the United States and ninth highest in the world.

“We set out with a vision to create a workplace that is both functional and environmentally conscious, and we are very pleased to have reached both these important goals. That we achieved one of the highest LEED Platinum scores in the world we hope only serves to magnify the example that our building sets in encouraging others to follow the same path,” said Vertical Screen CEO Tony D’Orazio.

The 50,000 square foot building is located on nine acres of a Warminster, Pa. Brownfield site that was once occupied by the Johnsville Naval Air Warfare Center, where the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo mission astronauts trained in the 1950s and 1960s. The building contains numerous advanced green technologies, including:

A geothermal HVAC system that uses 64 closed ground-loop wells installed at a depth of 500 feet to utilize the Earth’s mean temperature to heat and cool the building;
A roof-mounted solar photovoltaic array comprised of 900 panels (each containing 40 cylindrical modules) that generates 163 kilowatts of power – about 20 percent of the building’s total electricity needs;
A rainwater harvesting system that collects rainwater from the roof in a 15,000 gallon underground storage tank, filters it and uses it to flush toilets and urinals and to irrigate four interior green roofs and a living wall;
A daylight harvesting system that utilizes 40-foot-high glass curtain walls on the east and west sides of the building and a 10-foot-high glass south wall to let in as much natural daylight as possible. A Building Automation System (BAS) dims and/or turns on and off lights and controls an automated shading system based upon the amount of available daylight;
A Structured Insulated Panel (SIPS) roof deck system that provides an extremely strong, airtight structure that is highly energy efficient, with an R-Value of 38; and
Building materials composed of recycled or rapidly renewing resources, including carpeting made from used car tires; discarded/recycled glass countertops; concrete with byproduct fly ash or slag composition; building slab and parking lot underlayments made of discarded, crushed masonry; bamboo doors and cabinets; wheat board cabinets; cork and linoleum floors; and Kirei board toilet partitions. The building also utilizes Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood throughout.

“This project represents a new paradigm for corporate office space. By embracing Tony’s commitment to the environment as well as to his workforce, we were able to reshape the notion of the ‘corporate cathedral’ into one that is both socially and environmentally responsible,” said Erdy McHenry Architecture LLC Principal Scott Erdy, whose firm designed the Vertical Screen headquarters building. “What has been created for the Vertical Screen community will become a benchmark for corporate responsibility and healthy work environments.

“A LEED Platinum certification demonstrates a strong commitment to environmental stewardship with respect to the built environment. Vertical Screen went further to provide not only a visually stunning work atmosphere, but an environment that fosters employee health and well-being,” said Scott Kelly, principal of Re:Vision Architecture, the project’s LEED consultant. “From the ample daylighting and access to restored meadows, to the natural material selection and living walls, Vertical Screen brings the outdoors in and is sure to become a new standard for corporate interiors.

More than 300 Vertical Screen employees began working in the building on May 2, 2011. “Today is the six month anniversary of our relocation to the building. While we are still tweaking some of the building’s systems and have not yet seen all four seasons, we are excited that we are so far surpassing our major performance benchmarks,” said D’Orazio.

During the first six months of operation, the new Vertical Screen world headquarters building has utilized more than 60 percent less energy and more than 70 percent less municipal water than a similar-sized traditional office building.

Vertical Screen is planning a LEED plaque presentation ceremony at its headquarters later in the year.

Vertical Screen Awarded Highest Score

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:43:07 GMT

A geothermal HVAC system that uses 64 closed ground-loop wells installed at a depth of 500 feet to utilize the Earth’s mean temperature to heat and cool the building;
A roof-mounted solar photovoltaic array comprised of 900 panels (each containing 40 cylindrical modules) that generates 163 kilowatts of power – about 20 percent of the building’s total electricity needs;
A rainwater harvesting system that collects rainwater from the roof in a 15,000 gallon underground storage tank, filters it and uses it to flush toilets and urinals and to irrigate four interior green roofs and a living wall;
A daylight harvesting system that utilizes 40-foot-high glass curtain walls on the east and west sides of the building and a 10-foot-high glass south wall to let in as much natural daylight as possible. A Building Automation System (BAS) dims and/or turns on and off lights and controls an automated shading system based upon the amount of available daylight;
A Structured Insulated Panel (SIPS) roof deck system that provides an extremely strong, airtight structure that is highly energy efficient, with an R-Value of 38; and
Building materials composed of recycled or rapidly renewing resources, including carpeting made from used car tires; discarded/recycled glass countertops; concrete with byproduct fly ash or slag composition; building slab and parking lot underlayments made of discarded, crushed masonry; bamboo doors and cabinets; wheat board cabinets; cork and linoleum floors; and Kirei board toilet partitions. The building also utilizes Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood throughout.

Vertical Screen is planning a LEED plaque presentation ceremony at its headquarters later in the year.