Role of seismic vulnerability on the environmental impact of existing buildings

In earthquake prone areas, the benefits derived from the thermal and energy refurbishment of existing buildings could be jeopardized by the damage associated to seismic events, especially for buildings not designed according to modern building standards. This could lead to an unexpected and reduced environmental load, besides representing a safety hazard. In the present paper an attempt is made to investigate available procedures in earthquake engineering in order to include environmental effects related to seismic damage and collapse of buildings. In particular, the PEER-PBEE framework is herein adopted to address the embodied carbon related to seismic events of an existing building after thermal refurbishment. The application of the procedure to a selected case study shows how the site seismicity influences the environmental impact evaluation of the considered building.