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[Display omitted] • Energy and environmental implications in reinforced concrete and timber-based tall buildings. • BIM-LCA integrated approach for a comparative quantitative assessment. • Cradle-to-grave analysis of an RC-framed and CLT-framed 19-stories building. Energy demand reduction targets and sustainable design paradigms are fueling the search for more and more effective design solutions in the building sector, and new technologies and construction systems are being presented. However, each design solution has its own consequences for the environmental impact of the building. The use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be profitably adopted for supporting the decision-making process. This paper reports a comparative methodology developed to analyse the impacts of alternative structural solutions for timber-based high-rise structures. Embodied, operational, and end-of-life environmental impacts based on two structural frame types, a reinforced concrete (RC) structure and cross-laminated timber (CLT) are explored. Two main inputs are used for performing a comprehensive cradle-to-grave LCA for the whole building: the bill of quantities from a Revit BIM model and the energy demand from DesignStudio. Then, an LCA is performed using the One Click LCA tool for a service life of 50 years and 12 impact categories. The environmental impacts of building materials are based on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) directly embedded in the tool. The method is then applied to a case study in Aalborg, Denmark. Results indicate that the total emissions for the considered case study are 9.6 kg- CO 2 eq./m2/y for the CLT structure against 10.8 kg- CO 2 eq./m2/y for the RC structure. The production stage of building materials, including building systems and installations, accounts for around 55% of the total emissions, while energy use (B6 phase) during the in-use stage of the building recorded a lower environmental impact (45%). The outcomes confirm the opportunity to base the discussion on alternative design options on more objective and data-based elements to support the different positions which already involve a wide range of architectural, functional and financial criteria. This is of great relevance in achieving balanced and informed decisions which do not simply follow green-labelled ideas but are grounded on evidence-based considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy performance certificate (EPC) to c contribute in defining a energy poverty index. • Mapping building energy poverty risks to support policy actions for tackling energy poverty. • Merging GIS tool and EPC database to obtain city energy poverty maps at city (Bologna) level. Energy poverty is defined as the condition in which low-income people is no more able to face the costs of energy bills and consequently accept to live in cold and uncomfortable houses. In recent years the scientific literature about this specific issue has registered a significant growth, despite the problem is mainly approached from an econometric point of view to which instead medical, social and energy aspects have to be coupled. Recent EU policies like the Clean Energy Package and the Energy Building Performance Directive Recast III encourage to increase the efforts to tackle and eradicate the energy poverty. The paper approaches the problem focusing on one of its complementary causes: the building energy performance. The adopted methodology includes the calculation of the energy costs for each household, the definition of the energy poverty threshold, the calculation of the related building energy performance limit, otherwise leading to the energy poverty condition. These data, associated with the energy performance certificates, are used to create a GIS based mapping of the buildings potentially affected by energy poverty. Maps can be used to support decision making process in addressing appropriate strategies at urban level to tackle the energy poverty risk. The paper includes a case study in the city of Bologna where the proposed methodology is tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]