Search Results (7)

Industrial symbiosis is increasingly recognized as a carbon-centered operational strategy rather than only a waste-management practice, yet evidence from emerging economies remains limited. This study examines Thai Eastern Group Holdings (TEGH) in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) to analyze how industrial symbiosis reorganizes resource flows, carbon management, and broader sustainable operations performance. Using sustainability and operational data from 2022 to 2024 together with comparative benchmarking, the study evaluates economic, environmental, social, and governance (EESG) outcomes. The findings show that TEGH’s integrated system, combining biogas production from palm oil mill effluent, wastewater recycling, and organic waste valorization, reduced GHG emissions by 19,271 tCO₂e in 2024 while generating cost savings and improving resource efficiency. Benchmarking against Kalundborg and selected regional peers indicates comparatively favorable indicators in waste reuse, carbon intensity, and renewable energy payback, subject to boundary and data comparability limitations. The case also shows that supply chain inclusion and governance verification are integral to the durability of the model, with more than 44,000 smallholders engaged in traceable sourcing systems. The study concludes that industrial symbiosis can function as a carbon-centered operational strategy that aligns decarbonization, circularity, and institutional accountability, offering a potentially replicable pathway for low-carbon industrial transformation in comparable emerging economy contexts. Full article

Community-scale biomass power plants (CSBPPs) offer a decentralized approach for electricity generation by utilizing locally available biomass while delivering socioeconomic benefits. Site selection plays a critical role in the success of CSBPPs and requires the consideration of diverse spatial and non-spatial factors. This study presents a spatial decision-support tool for identifying suitable CSBPP sites in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), which comprises the Chachoengsao, Chonburi, and Rayong provinces. A geoprocessing workflow integrating Geographic Information Systems (GISs), Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM), and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was developed using ModelBuilder tools in ArcGIS Pro (version 3.0.2). Thirteen sub-criteria related to geographical, infrastructural, and socioeconomic–cultural dimensions, along with exclusion zones, were evaluated by 15 experts from diverse stakeholder groups. Biomass availability from five major economic crops was combined with other spatial data layers, incorporating expert-assigned weights and suitability scores. The findings indicated a remaining biomass energy potential was 34,156 TJ, with sugarcane residues contributing over 80%. Approximately 20% of the EEC area (about 0.262 million hectares) was classified as highly suitable for CSBPP development, revealing several viable site options. The proposed model offers a flexible and replicable framework for regional biomass planning and can be adapted to other locations by adjusting the criteria and integrating optimization techniques. Full article

Tourism plays a crucial role in promoting economic growth, but it can also contribute significantly to environmental degradation, particularly in urban areas where there is a high concentration of local residents and visitors. Tourism is crucial for economic development but can also harm the environment, particularly in urban areas where both locals and tourists are concentrated. Adopting green logistics is important for promoting sustainable urban tourism while minimizing environmental impact. However, little research has been conducted on this topic in Thailand. This study aimed to identify the factors that influence the performance of green logistics in urban tourism activities in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 leading logistics enterprises and five major factors were identified: The implementation of a green transportation system, the level of the environmental management system, the enhancement of reverse logistics, the level of government governance, and the perceived usefulness of green logistics for logistics enterprises. The research found that both the government and enterprises play a key role in initiating green logistics, and this action is the mechanism behind the identified factors. The study’s holistic perspective on the contributions of green logistics to urban tourism has academic implications and can inform decisions on enhancing and improving green logistics performance for sustainable regional development. The study concludes with implications and recommendations for future research. Full article

The Eastern Economic Corridor in Thailand is undergoing development, but industrial activities are causing serious air pollution. This study aimed to examine the effects of particulate matter (PM₁₀), fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), SO₂, NO₂, O₃, and CO on outpatient department (OPD) visits and mortality with various causes in the Eastern Economic Corridor, Thailand between 2013 and 2019 using a case-crossover design and conditional Poisson model. The corresponding burden of disease due to air pollution exposure was calculated. A 1 µg/m³ increase in the PM₁₀ was associated with significant increases in OPD visits for circulatory diseases (0.22, 95% CI 0.01, 0.34), respiratory diseases (0.21, 95% CI 0.13, 0.28), and skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases (0.18, 95% CI 0.10, 0.26). By contrast, a 1 µg/m³ increase in the PM₁₀ was associated with significant increases in mortality from skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases (0.79, 95% CI 0.04, 1.56). A 1 µg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 was associated with significant increases in mortality from circulatory diseases (0.75, 95% CI 0.20, 1.34), respiratory diseases (0.82, 95% CI 0.02, 1.63), and skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases (2.91, 95% CI 0.99, 4.86). The highest OPD burden was for circulatory diseases. Respiratory effects were attributed to PM₁₀ exceeding the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) of Thailand (120 μg/m³). The highest morbidity burden was for skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases attributed to PM_2.5 concentrations that exceeded the NAAQs (50 μg/m³). PM pollution in the EEC could strongly contribute to OPD visits and morbidity from various diseases. Preventing PM₁₀ concentrations from being higher than 60 µg/m³ could decrease OPD visits by more than 33,265 and 29,813 for circulatory and respiratory diseases, respectively. Our study suggests that such pollution increases the risks of OPD visits and mortality in various causes in the Thai EEC. Reducing the ambient air pollution concentration of NAAQSs in Thailand could reduce the health effect on the Thai population. Full article

The Thai government’s project called “Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC)” was announced in 2016 to stimulate economic development and help the country escape from the middle-income trap. The project provides investment incentives for the private sector and the infrastructure development of land, rail, water, and air transportation. The EEC project encompasses three provinces in the eastern region of Thailand because of their strategic locations near deep seaports and natural resources in the Gulf of Thailand. Clearly, this policy will lead to dramatic changes in land uses and the livelihoods of the people in these three provinces. However, the extent to which land use changes will occur because of this project remains unclear. This study aims to analyze land use changes in the eastern region of Thailand using a Cellular Automata–Markov model. The results show that land uses of the coastal areas have become more urbanized than inland areas, which are primarily agricultural lands. The predicted land uses suggest shrinking agricultural lands of paddy fields, field crops, and horticulture lands but expanding perennial lands. These changes in land uses highlight challenges in urban administration and management as well as threats to Thailand’s agricultural cultures in the future. Full article

Solid waste generated on land could potentially contribute continuously to marine waste, with current municipal solid waste management (MSWM) focusing on human-related activities as the main source. While there has been challenges and opportunities in the MSWM’s partnership in the growing waste generation for the coastal tourism area, the aim of this study is to explore public and private sectors as the key players to identify challenges, opportunities, and need for further analysis of the synergistic MSWM services in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Thailand. A mixed-method approach was adopted, including primary data collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys. Content analysis, descriptive statistics, and chi-square tests were applied. The results show that the public sector has different MSWM strategies—with public-private partnership (PPP) and without PPP, with many challenges in the EEC region—while the private sector has a lot of potential for MSWM effectiveness. The synergistic opportunities from both sectors can therefore be considered for possible integration into four aspects: challenging synergies within the public sector, potential synergies via the private sector, synergies with a cross-sectoral partnership, and synergies through other types of partnership. Additionally, a synergic partnership was another appropriate approach for MSWM services enhancement. Full article

Since 2016, the Thai Government has pursued a twenty-year national economic growth policy, Thailand 4.0, promoting innovation and stimulating international investment through the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project. The EEC project involves significant land acquisition resulting in the need to relocate villagers with potential impact on food security in a major food production area. This research explored the concerns of a local farming community regarding the potential loss of their farmland and means of livelihood under the EEC project using a case study in Ban Pho District of Chachoengsao (CCS) province. It described their resulting action to protect their farmland using community organizing. Data was collected through documents, observation and semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders. The results demonstrate the role of social capital in community organizing. We contend that high social capital stock is a necessary precursor to create conditions for community members to take steps to defend and protect their interests. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of social capital in community organizing in cases involving natural resource management. Full article