UNIBETON Ready Mix, a leading UAE supplier of sustainable concrete, is working to create a pioneering product that will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by as much as 93 per cent. Representatives from Unibeton revealed the plans at CityBuild Abu Dhabi Awards  last month when they collected the Innovation award for green and sustainable concrete solutions.

Unibeton says its award-winning ‘green concrete’ already reduces CO2 emissions by 75 per cent and is being used on some major developments throughout the UAE, including Abu Dhabi’s tallest tower, the Landmark Tower, where the largest single pour of 16,000 cu m of self-compacting concrete was performed in the GCC.

During the construction of the capital’s Sheikh Zayed Bridge, completed last year, Unibeton’s green concrete product is said to have prevented 80,000 tonnes of carbon emissions being spewed into the air, which is the equivalent to the carbon offset of 400,000 trees.

The cement manufacturing process is the major contributor of CO2 emissions in the production of concrete. By using cement replacement substitutes such as pulverised fuel ash (PFA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), carbon dioxide emissions are greatly reduced, it says. The biggest reduction can be achieved while completely replacing Portland cement with an industrial waste product that improves the concrete’s performance.

Dr Huiqing He, assistant operations director for Unibeton, said: “Unibeton’s vision is to be the first choice of sustainable concrete solutions, and we are excited to have been recognised by industry peers at the CityBuild Abu Dhabi Construction Awards.”