CONARES, a UAE manufacturer of downstream steel products in the region, has received Sustainable Constructional Steel Certification by the UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels (Cares) for its rebar manufacturing division. It was granted the mark for operating a documented environmental management system that satisfies ISO 14001 requirements.

The Sustainable Reinforcing Steel Certification scheme provides Conares an independent certification of the environmental performance of steel products. This will also allow Conares rebar to be easily compliant to Estidama, Breem and Leed requirements.          

Receiving the global certification, Bharat Bhatia, CEO, Conares, said constructional steel products made by Conares are now fully traceable from production to delivery. He noted that Conares adopts measures to focus on reducing the impact on the environment with its energy-efficient and environment-friendly steel mills.

“The Sustainable Constructional Steel Certification is a testimony on our commitment to adapt sustainable standards in the manufacturing of reinforcement bars that facilitate the region’s infra-development sector, eventually contributing to the economy and to supporting measures to reduce the eco-footprint,” said Bhatia.

“We are always on the lookout for growth and development of the construction and steel industries with the implementation of modern procedures and bringing an evolution in the tools and techniques. Using rebars produced by our mill enables the industry to demonstrate the responsible sourcing of construction products and its commitment to sustainable development.”

Bhatia: moving the company ahead

The dynamic framework of the Sustainable Reinforcing Steel Certification scheme by UK Cares is aimed at improving the energy and environmental performance of products and providing a robust and transparent mechanism for communicating the environmental performance of steel products to designers, specifiers and clients. The environmental criteria were developed by a group of industry experts, and cover the entire supply chain from production to processing to delivery.

“The implications of this changing approach to decision-making in construction procurement are that the supply chain must be able to clearly demonstrate it is managing these issues to improve sustainability performance. The sustainable scheme is formally set up to do this through its scope, objectives, principles and the way it operates,” Bhatia said.

“Focusing on sustainable infrastructure development, we introduced Continuously Galvanised Reinforcement, a first-of-its-kind sustainable approach in the Middle East region towards infrastructure development.” 

Conares has set benchmarks in the steel processing industry, competing in the domestic, regional and global markets including North America, Europe and Australia. The company supports the region’s infrastructure development sector with world-class steel products through long-term partnerships.

The company’s exports account for over 20 per cent of its total production and its main export destinations include the Middle East and Africa region, Europe and the US.

Established in 2001, Conares initially focused on steel trading, building extensive partnerships with renowned steel plants across the world. It later set up its own manufacturing facility in the Gulf.