One of the messages from the ARA convention panel was that sustainability isn’t a side project; it’s a sales strategy. And the lever recyclers can pull right now is simple and familiar: sell more quality recycled parts, backed by credible carbon data and was covered in a presentation given by Joanna Cohen, Director of Sustainability at Car-Part and Bill Brower, Senior Vice President of Global Industry Relations and Claims Solutions at Solera “We’re all here to figure out how to leverage carbon to sell more parts,” Brower said. “Lowering carbon speeds repair, lowers cost, and it brings more recycled parts into the job.”
Cohen and Brower moved the conversation from aspiration to instrumentation. Their common language was CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent), the unit that lets the industry compare the climate impact of different greenhouse gases. In practice, Cohen explained, it means you can quantify the avoided emissions from choosing a recycled component over a new one. Life-cycle analysis conducted in collaboration with ARA/WPI accounts for mining, manufacturing and transport of new parts, the very stages you skip when you reuse. “An engine that’s heavy and metal-rich will carry far higher savings than a headlamp,” she noted. “And when that number sits on a quote or invoice, we can effectively communicate with the buyer the environmental savings of their purchase.”
Solera has been building the plumbing behind those numbers. Brower described an algorithm designed to track Scopes 1, 2 and—critically—3 emissions across the claims and repair process, with ISO assurance in the works. Scope 3 is the messy one, capturing upstream materials and logistics, and often accounts for the bulk of the footprint. Solera is now embedding a “carbon score” into estimating and analytics tools so insurers and shops can see CO₂e alongside cost. “Groundbreaking,” Brower called it. “For the first time, an estimate shows how much it’ll cost, and how much carbon it will generate.”
Bill and Joanna also challenged the persistent myth that sustainability costs more. Repairing instead of replacing remains the lowest-carbon path when safe and appropriate; recycled parts are next best. In many programs, they’re also consistently reducing average claim cost. “It’s not a trade-off anymore,” Cohen said. “You can reduce both at the same time, and when the CO₂e data travels with the part, the savings add up quickly.” Brower added that carriers piloting carbon-aware repair paths have already reported meaningful per-claim savings while lifting the recycled-parts install rate. “Shops that follow sustainable practices are seeing the business benefits, and insurers are recommending work to them.”
Clarity matters in the ESG era, and Cohen drew a line between carbon savings and net zero. Carbon savings are the avoided emissions from an individual decision, fitting a recycled fender today. Net zero is a whole-business destination, typically a 2040–2050 commitment achieved after deep reductions and then offsetting the remainder. “Carbon savings are a piece of the puzzle that help us get there,” she said. “But net zero takes a broader, long-term strategy. You don’t have to wait to start contributing; recycled parts do that today.”
Two numbers from the session ought to be on every sales deck. First, North America could avoid around 35 million tons of CO₂e annually by fully embracing recycled parts. “That’s the yearly emissions of multiple coal-fired power plants,” Cohen said. Second, a circular approach to automotive could cut emissions by up to 75 percent per kilometre driven by 2030 compared with the linear take-make-waste model. (https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/01/circular-car-industry-could-slash-carbon-emissions-accenture/)
“Small changes compound,” Brower added. “When you track carbon and nudge choices, repair when possible, then recycled, results show up in both scale and sustainability.”
Policy winds are shifting too. Europe and Canada are ahead in regulation and culture; the U.S. is catching up state by state. As CO₂e data becomes routine, guidelines evolve, and categories once off-limits are being reconsidered under tighter validation. Better vehicle “DNA” data, paint codes, options, and sensor sets also reduce mis-orders and repeat deliveries, shrinking both costs and carbon. “Data creates transparency,” Brower said. “Recyclers, shops, insurers and consumers end up on the same page.”
So, where does this leave the yard? In a stronger position, if you can quantify and communicate your impact. Put CO₂e figures on every line item. Keep a short methodology sheet ready for adjusters and ESG teams. Tighten logistics for right-first-time delivery. Start mapping your own yard footprint so your part-level claims carry even more weight with net-zero-minded buyers. Most of all, lean into partnerships. “Lowering carbon in collision repair can’t happen in silos,” Brower said. “When carriers, MSOs, paint companies and recyclers row together, carbon becomes a currency, and recycled parts become the default.”
Solera’s launch of the Global Circularity Consortium (GCC) at the convention further amplifies Brower’s message of the industry working together toward measurable sustainability. As a company positioned at the center of the automotive ecosystem, Solera is uniquely equipped to drive this kind of cross-industry collaboration. The GCC brings together recyclers, green parts innovators, insurers, and repair networks because true circularity depends on an interconnected approach across the entire value chain.
Cohen summed up the opportunity with a simple customer-facing reframing: “When a part comes with verified CO₂e savings, it’s not just a product anymore. It’s a solution.” For Auto Recycling World readers, that’s the takeaway, and the playbook.
