What we've accomplished together

Pave the Way San Jose began as a capstone project for the Climatebase Fellowship, with a simple goal to make climate-friendly concrete an option for residential sidewalk repairs in our city.

Early support from Vice Mayor Pam Foley's office connected us with the City of San Jose's Trees and Sidewalks team, led by Jose Avalos, Jr., who became an enthusiastic partner. Local contractor Calafia Pacific stepped forward with the same forward-thinking spirit, completing our first pilot sidewalk repair. Central Concrete supplied the lower-carbon concrete, and local residents volunteered their sidewalks to demonstrate that the approach could work.

In August 2026, the City of San Jose included language allowing low-carbon concrete in its sidewalk repair contractor specifications. This was a team effort involving our elected officials, city staff, contractors, suppliers and neighbors, each contributing their expertise, enthusiasm and willingness to try something new to make our city a little greener.

Our pilot low-carbon concrete sidewalk repair was completed in February 2025 on Janis Way in San Jose. It brought together the City of San Jose, local contractor Calafia Pacific, concrete supplier Central Concrete and resident Jeff W., who volunteered his sidewalk to help prove that a more climate-friendly repair could work and meet city specifications.

Central Concrete's innovative mix reduced the cement content from 85% to 50% of the cementitious materials and incorporated captured CO₂ into the concrete. The result was a reduction in Global Warming Potential (GWP) from 264 to 226 kg CO₂e per cubic meter, or about 14% less embodied carbon than a conventional mix. Multiply that potential across thousands of sidewalk repairs throughout San Jose, and a small change in how we make concrete could deliver substantial climate benefits.

In November 2025, we helped bring low-carbon concrete beyond sidewalk repair to a much larger project: a brand-new sidewalk serving four new homes on Glendora Court in San Jose.

The project brought together the City of San Jose, local contractor SBI Builders and concrete supplier Graniterock. SBI's subcontractor, All Pro Services, stepped up to work with our most ambitious low-carbon mix yet. 

Graniterock's innovative mix reduced the cement content from 80% to just 30% of the cementitious materials. The result: a reduction in Global Warming Potential (GWP) from 264 to 203 kg CO₂e per cubic meter, about 23% less embodied carbon than the conventional mix. This was a bigger project, a lower-carbon mix and another successful demonstration of what's possible when local partners are willing to try something new.