Arabian Gulf Steel Industries, the UAE’s largest private steelmaker and recycler, has achieved the lowest verified carbon footprint for reinforcing bar, establishing a new benchmark for low-carbon construction materials produced in the UAE.
The achievement was announced at Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi headquarters in the presence of KEZAD Group CEO Mohamed Al Khadar Al Ahmed, AGSI Founder and CEO Asam Hussain and CARES Chief Operating Officer Ayhan Tugrul.
AGSI’s rebar produced in Abu Dhabi carries a verified cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of 139 kg of CO2 equivalent per tonne, well below the typical 600 to 700 kg per tonne for scrap-based rebar and below the nearest comparable publicly available Environmental Product Declaration figure of 300 kg CO2e per tonne.
Its Sharjah operations record 218 kg CO2e per tonne, also below that benchmark.
Both results have been independently verified against recognised international standards, cover production from raw materials to the factory gate and are available as full EPDs on the CARES website.
AGSI uses 100% locally recycled scrap and a fully electrified production process, building on its 2024 carbon-neutral plant milestone under PAS 2060.
Asam Hussain described the achievement as a defining milestone demonstrating that low-carbon steel production is measurable, verified and being delivered today rather than remaining a future ambition.
Abdullah Al Hameli, CEO of Economic Cities and Free Zones at AD Ports Group, highlighted AGSI’s result as establishing the company as a world leader in steel decarbonisation and adding to Abu Dhabi’s standing as a global hub for advanced industry, crediting KEZAD’s infrastructure, utilities and logistics access as enabling manufacturers to achieve internationally competitive performance.
Ayhan Tugrul of CARES emphasised that independently verified, product-specific EPD data allows designers, contractors and asset owners to make sound embodied carbon decisions rather than relying on generic industry averages.
