EMSTEEL Achieves Carbon Intensity 45% Below Global Average In Steel Production

EMSTEEL Group is outlining detailed progress towards low-carbon industry, highlighting measurable gains in emissions, clean energy use and carbon capture, while setting firm 2030 and 2050 climate targets that align with UAE energy strategies and growing European demand for verified, sustainable steel products.

Chief Executive Officer Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi said EMSTEEL now records a carbon intensity of 0.67 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of steel, which is about 45 percent below the global average, reflecting years of investment in clean energy, process optimisation and large-scale industrial decarbonisation projects.

Al Remeithi stated that EMSTEEL follows an approved decarbonisation roadmap with staged implementation, aiming by 2030 to cut steel emissions by 40 percent and cement emissions by 30 percent, while pursuing climate neutrality by 2050, after already achieving a 30 percent reduction compared with the company’s 2019 emissions baseline.

The roadmap uses several industrial pillars that can be expanded, such as greater clean electricity integration, preparation for hydrogen-based operations, enhanced energy and process efficiency, large-scale carbon capture and storage, and circular economy measures that connect steel and cement activities within an integrated production system.

According to Al Remeithi, EMSTEEL already sources clean electricity for 86 percent of its operations and seeks to reach 100 percent by 2030, while also capturing around 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year in cooperation with ADNOC, supporting regional carbon management plans and strengthening the company’s low-carbon industrial base.

EMSTEEL has also started operating what is described as the region’s first green hydrogen facility dedicated to sustainable steel production, built with Masdar, while circular economy principles are applied by reusing steel by-products in cement manufacturing, reducing waste and linking different parts of the company’s industrial value chain.

To convert its strategy into market activity, the group signed memoranda of understanding with Modon Properties and Mered Developments, aiming to expand the deployment of EMSTEEL sustainable steel solutions across large development projects, which supports demand for low-carbon construction materials in the UAE and across the wider Middle East and North Africa region.

EMSTEEL sustainable steel data and market positioning

Al Remeithi explained that the TrueGreen programme offers detailed carbon information and independently verified environmental declarations, aligned with the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and international standards, allowing EMSTEEL to supply European customers with products supported by plant-level emissions data and documentation that meets evolving regulatory expectations.

Discussing 2026 market conditions, Al Remeithi expects the UAE and the wider Middle East and North Africa region to retain strong resilience in steel demand, supported by infrastructure investments and sector transformation, while the UAE’s clear clean energy pathway improves EMSTEEL’s capacity to manufacture low-carbon steel at industrial scale for regional and European buyers.

Al Remeithi added that EMSTEEL competes globally through higher added value products that combine advanced technical specifications, lower emissions profiles, reliable carbon data and robust supply chains, emphasising that the TrueGreen framework is central to providing accurate production-level emissions figures and verified declarations that support compliance and transparent purchasing decisions for international customers.

The company’s participation in Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026, described as its largest presence since the event began, and the Diamond Sustainability Label awarded by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which recognises the highest level of sustainability integration in core operations, reflect how EMSTEEL sustainable steel strategies are being embedded across its industrial and commercial activities.

With inputs from WAM