carbonr 
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Overview
carbonr is an R package designed to conveniently calculate
carbon-equivalent emissions using data from the UK Government report
(2023).
Installation
Install the development version from GitHub with:
# install.packages("devtools")
devtools::install_github("IDEMSInternational/carbonr")Aims of carbonr
carbonr was developed to provide a reliable and reproducible method
for calculating carbon-equivalent emissions. It aims to:
- Ensure transparency, flexibility, and reproducibility in emissions calculations.
- Facilitate easy saving, editing, and redistribution of results.
- Encourage community contributions to extend functionality.
- Provide a user-friendly interface through Shiny for users with limited programming experience.
Functions in carbonr
There are different types of functions in carbonr. There are travel
and accommodation based estimates based on general activities, making
them easier to use without detailed knowledge of specific inputs:
Travel-Related Emissions
airplane_emissions()ferry_emissions()rail_emissions()land_emissions()vehicle_emissions()
Accommodation-Related Emissions
hotel_emissions()building_emissions()office_emissions()household_emissions()
Raw Input-Based Emissions
These functions allow for more precise calculations by inputting specific values, such as the quantity of materials used:
construction_emissions()electrical_emissions()material_emissions()metal_emissions()paper_emissions()plastic_emissions()raw_fuels()
Clinical Emissions
These functions are specific to calculating emissions from clinical and medical activities:
anaesthetic_emissions()clinical_emissions()clinical_theatre_data()
All functions return carbon-equivalent emissions in tonnes. A Shiny app
is available via shiny_emissions() for a GUI-based calculation.
Some examples demonstrating how to use the carbonr package functions
can be found in the vignette.
Additional Features
Beyond the Emissions Available in the 2023 UK Report
Additional functions are available for emissions not covered in the UK Government report, such as those related to operating theatre waste. Further details on using the operating theatre waste functions are provided in the vignette.
The carbon_credit_price() function provides values based on World
Bank data.
Shiny App
An interactive calculator using Shiny can be accessed by the
shiny_emissions() function. This calculator uses some of the functions
in the carbonr package:
shiny_emissions()
For the Future
As well as those outlined in the “issues”, planned features include:
- Data integration from data sets. For example, office emissions from accounting records.
- Comprehensive reporting tools with summary statistics, tables, and graphs.
- Open to further collaborations to contribute new emissions, insights, and methodologies.
- Continual updates to integrate the latest research.
References
Other Online Calculators:
Sources
-
UK Government Report: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. (2023). Greenhouse Gas Reporting: Conversion Factors 2023.
-
Radiative Forcing Factor: DEFRA, 2016. Government GHG conversion factors for company reporting.
-
Clinical Anaesthetic Emissions: Various sources including -
Varughese, S. and Ahmed, R., 2021. Environmental and occupational considerations of anesthesia: a narrative review and update. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 133(4), pp.826-835;
McGain, F., Muret, J., Lawson, C. and Sherman, J.D., 2020. Environmental sustainability in anaesthesia and critical care. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 125(5), pp.680-692;
Wyssusek, K., Chan, K.L., Eames, G. and Whately, Y., 2022. Greenhouse gas reduction in anaesthesia practice: a departmental environmental strategy. BMJ Open Quality, 11(3), p.e001867;
Sherman, J., Le, C., Lamers, V. and Eckelman, M., 2012. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of anesthetic drugs. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 114(5), pp.1086-1090.
- Clinical Wet Waste Emissions: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. (2022). National Greenhouse Accounts Factors: 2022.