One of the more interesting signals about where the collision repair industry is heading didn’t come from a trade show floor or a supplier announcement. It came from a scientific journal.
Yes, scientists are now studying collision repair.
Not casually, either. With detailed models, engineering analysis and the kind of process mapping normally used to examine factories and manufacturing lines. When that level of attention starts showing up in academic research, it usually means the work being done inside today’s repair operations has become important enough—and complex enough—to deserve serious study.
A paper published in 2025 in the Journal of Engineering titled “A Novel Model to Quickly Assess the Environmental Impact of Automotive Collision Repair Workshops” takes exactly that approach. The researchers set out to calculate the environmental footprint of collision repair operations by breaking down the activities inside a collision repair facility and measuring the impact of each one.
Instead of treating a repair business as one large operation, the researchers examined the individual services that take place inside a collision repair facility—washing vehicles, sanding panels, straightening metal, refinishing surfaces and running curing cycles in a spray booth. Each activity was analyzed for its environmental inputs and outputs, including water consumption, electricity demand, solvent use, waste generation and emissions.
The goal, according to the authors, is to allow repair facilities to “quickly measure their environmental footprint and identify which operations create the most impact.”
To build that model, the researchers essentially mapped the workflow of a repair operation the way an engineer studies a production line. Each task was treated as its own process with measurable inputs and outputs. Water consumption, electricity demand, compressed air use, solvent evaporation, waste materials and emissions were all assigned environmental values so they could be included in the larger calculation.
Once the analysis begins, even routine shop activities take on a surprising level of detail. Vehicle washing brings water consumption, detergents and wastewater management into the equation. Sanding operations introduce dust generation, abrasive materials and energy consumption from electric tools and extraction systems.
Refinishing operations receive particularly close attention. Anyone who has watched a spray booth move through a heating and curing cycle will understand why. Paint preparation, solvent use, air filtration, heating cycles and curing time all contribute significantly to the environmental footprint of the process. The researchers describe their method as “a structured approach to quantify the environmental impacts associated with each repair activity.” By mapping these individual steps, the model builds a detailed picture of how the environmental footprint of a collision repair facility develops piece by piece.
From that analysis, the researchers reached several conclusions worth highlighting.
1. A workable measurement tool is possible
The main outcome of the study is the model itself. The researchers proved that a collision repair shop’s environmental impact can be calculated by breaking the operation into individual services and assigning environmental indicators to each one. In their words, the model makes it possible to monitor emissions and environmental performance linked to specific repair activities.
They also built a simple monitoring tool around the model so companies could apply it without needing deep technical expertise. The intent is that a shop or company could plug in operational data and receive an estimate of its environmental footprint.
2. Environmental impact varies widely between shop activities
One of the clearest findings is that not all repair work contributes equally to environmental impact. Certain operations—particularly refinishing and energy-intensive processes—account for a disproportionately large share of emissions and resource consumption.
By isolating each service step, the model highlights which activities have the most negative environmental impact, allowing businesses to focus improvement efforts where they matter most.
3. The industry currently lacks consistent measurement methods
The paper points out a major gap in the literature: despite growing pressure around sustainability, there has been very little structured research on environmental performance in collision repair shops. The authors argue that the industry has lacked clear tools or indicators to measure impact in the first place.
Their model is meant to fill that gap by providing a standardized way to evaluate environmental performance.
4. Measurement is meant to drive continuous improvement
The model isn’t just about reporting emissions. The authors frame it as a continuous improvement tool. Once environmental impacts are quantified, companies can monitor progress over time and adjust operations, equipment choices or processes to reduce their footprint.
In other words, measurement becomes the first step toward operational change.
5. Sustainability will increasingly affect collision repair operations
The broader conclusion of the paper is that collision repair will not be exempt from the wider push toward sustainability in the automotive sector. The researchers place the work within the “triple bottom line” framework—environmental, economic and social performance—suggesting that environmental metrics will become part of how businesses evaluate success.
For the collision repair industry, that means environmental performance inside a collision repair facility could eventually be monitored in the same structured way shops already track productivity, cycle time and materials usage.
Bottom line
The paper doesn’t tell shops exactly how to become greener.
What it does show is that the industry is now being studied closely enough that environmental impact can be measured in detail. Once measurement exists, standards, benchmarks and reporting requirements usually follow.
That’s the real takeaway. The science is starting to catch up with the collision repair industry.
Anyone interested in seeing the level of detail the researchers applied to everyday repair operations can read the full study here:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/je/8863257
