Concrete change: the hidden progress behind Abu Dhabi's transformation

From skyscrapers to waterfront homes, the city’s growth is increasingly built on lower-carbon foundations

Behind the developments that are reshaping Abu Dhabi, a quieter change is underway - one that is redefining how the real estate industry thinks about its future. At the centre of that shift is concrete: the essential material that underpins modern building, but also one of the world’s largest sources of carbon emissions. For a city attracting both families and businesses with a combination of elevated lifestyle and opportunities, the move towards more sustainable construction is becoming not just desirable, but imperative.

The carbon cost of concrete

Concrete is the backbone of modern development. Yet the cement industry alone accounts for about 7% of global CO₂ emissions, more than aviation. After water, concrete is the most widely used material on Earth, making its carbon footprint one of the most pressing issues in the fight against climate change.

The main culprit is clinker, the key ingredient in cement. Producing it requires extreme heat and releases CO₂ as a by-product of the chemical process. Reducing clinker content, whether by substituting alternative materials or rethinking how cement itself is made, has become a central task for the industry worldwide.

Cutting emissions in practice

Aldar, a leading developer in the region, has made concrete form a core part of its climate strategy. Since 2024, its contractors have been required to use mixes in which 40% of cement is replaced with ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), a by-product of steelmaking. In substructures, where durability is critical, the proportion rises to 60%, subject to design and regulatory requirements.

This substitution can reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by up to 40%, which translates into an overall cut of about 15-20% in a typical mid-rise building’s embodied carbon (cradle to gate). For a company with a pipeline of residential, commercial, retail and logistics developments worth billions of dirhams, the cumulative impact is substantial.

This practical step is part of Aldar’s broader pledge to achieve 73% reduction per m2 in upfront embodied scope 3 emissions (A1-A5) by 2033 and net zero across its entire value chain by 2050, in line with the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 strategy and the Paris Agreement.

“Concrete is simply too big to ignore. If we change the way we use it, we cut a very significant share of emissions,” says Faisal Saleem, Senior Vice President, Sustainable Development & Supply Chain at Aldar.

Testing tomorrow’s materials

Beyond GGBS substitution, Aldar has begun piloting cements designed to be lower carbon at source. Working with Cemex, one of the world’s largest cement producers, Aldar built a villa in Abu Dhabi using Vertua Ultra, an innovative low-carbon concrete solution. The result: a cut in emissions by 70% compared with conventional mixes.

The company is also collaborating with New York University Abu Dhabi on limestone-calcined clay cement (LC3), a next-generation product that could further reduce emissions by replacing much of the clinker with a mix of limestone and calcined clay. Though still in the research phase, LC3 is viewed by many in the industry as one of the most promising routes forward.
“It’s not about one silver bullet,” Saleem says. “It’s about working with researchers and suppliers to bring each new option into use.”

Designing around new realities

For engineers, greener concrete is not without complications. “Early strength is always the sticking point,” says Mohammed Ayad, Senior Vice President, Technical Design at Aldar. Conventional concrete reaches most of its strength within 28 days; with high-slag mixes, that period can stretch to 56 or even 90 days.

“Every new material means more conversations, but the direction of travel is clear,” Ayad says.

“That delay is manageable in foundations and basements, where you want slow curing for durability,” he explains. “But when you’re casting floor after floor on a tower, speed matters.”
These trade-offs are being tackled through admixtures that accelerate curing and through careful selection of where different mixes are used.

Scale that shifts the market

Because of its scale, Aldar’s decisions influence the entire supply chain. By writing lower-carbon concrete into specifications across its portfolio, it creates demand that batching plants, contractors and consultants must respond to. Over time, that pushes costs down and builds confidence among regulators.

“By making this normal practice rather than an exception, we create the scale that makes greener concrete mainstream,” Saleem says. He calls it a “green print” for others to follow.

What the future holds for concrete

The industry’s progress will not be linear. Supplies of by-products such as GGBS are limited, and new chemistries such as LC3 still face regulatory and commercial hurdles. At the same time, cement producers globally are investing in technologies such as carbon capture, which may in future be combined with lower-clinker products to deliver deeper cuts.

For developers, the trajectory is clear: buildings must be delivered on time, to high standards, but with significantly less carbon locked into their materials. That means a combination of new products, smarter structural systems that use less concrete, and closer collaboration across the value chain.

Abu Dhabi’s transformation shows that progress is measured not just by what rises on the skyline, but by how lightly it rests on the earth.

How concrete is made

Concrete is a mix of cement, water, sand and aggregates such as gravel or crushed stone. Cement is the binder: when mixed with water, it reacts chemically and hardens, holding everything together. Most of concrete’s carbon footprint comes from producing clinker, the core ingredient of cement, made by heating limestone and clay in kilns at more than 1,400°C.

Key terms

• Clinker: The ingredient in cement responsible for most emissions.
• GGBS: Ground-granulated blast-furnace slag, a by-product from steel manufacturing that can replace cement in concrete.
• LC3: Limestone-calcined clay cement, a low-carbon material in development.
• Embodied Carbon: Emissions locked into materials and construction (A1-A3 cradle to gate or A1-A5 to practical completion).