Impact of Seismic Design on Embodied Carbon in Steel Buildings: A Structural Element-based Assessment

This project looks at how seismic design rules affect the environment for steel‑frame buildings. Strong seismic detailing is essential for safety and for keeping the structure stable under sideways forces, but it also means larger members, which use more material and create more embodied carbon (EC). We used a structural‑element‑based method to model multi‑story steel frames in ETABS. The models covered a range of seismic levels, from areas with little or no seismic activity to high‑seismic zones. From each model we pulled the quantities of steel and concrete, then matched those amounts to cradle‑to‑gate (Stages A1–A3) carbon emission factors from the Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE) database, following the

BS EN 15978 standard. The results show both the absolute and relative carbon contributions of each component—columns, beams, and composite concrete slabs. Concrete slabs account for the largest share of total emissions. However, when seismic demands increase, steel columns and beams show the biggest rise in carbon intensity compared with their baseline. The study offers a clear framework for weighing structural safety against environmental impact. It suggests ways to optimize designs and to use high‑strength materials to cut carbon footprints in regions that experience strong earthquakes.

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