carbonr

Overview

carbonr is an R package designed to conveniently calculate carbon-equivalent emissions using data from the UK Government report (2024).

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.

Contributing, Reporting Issues, and Seeking Support

We welcome contributions from the community to enhance the carbonr package. If you would like to contribute, please follow these guidelines:

• Contribute to the software: If you wish to contribute new features, fix bugs, or improve the documentation, please fork the repository, create a new branch for your changes, and submit a pull request. Ensure that your code follows the existing style and include tests where applicable.

• Report issues or problems: If you encounter any bugs or have suggestions for improvements, please open an issue in the GitHub repository. Provide as much detail as possible, including steps to reproduce the issue if applicable.

• Seek support: For any questions or help with using carbonr, you can reach out by opening a discussion in the GitHub Discussions.

Your feedback and contributions are invaluable in helping us improve and maintain the package.

References

Other Online Calculators:

• Carbonfund.org
• Carbon Footprint Calculator

Sources

1. UK Government Report: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. (2023). Greenhouse Gas Reporting: Conversion Factors 2023.

2. UK Government Report: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. (2024). Greenhouse Gas Reporting: Conversion Factors 2024.

3. Radiative Forcing Factor: DEFRA, 2016. Government GHG conversion factors for company reporting.

4. 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.

5. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). National Greenhouse Accounts Factors: 2022. Australian Government, 2022.