Modeling environmental impact of service sectors to promote sustainable development of Thailand

The objective of this research is to propose an indicator to assess and rank environmental problems caused by production within the services sector of Thailand. Factors used to calculate real benefit (defined as revenue for a sector, minus the environmental costs) included the costs of (1) natural resources materials, (2) energy and transportation, (3) fertilizer and pesticides, and (4) sanitary and similar services. The highest environmental cost in terms of natural resources materials and energy and transportation was in the service sector — hotels and places of lodging, while the highest environmental cost in terms of fertilizer and pesticides was in the service sector — personal services. The service sector — movie theaters had the highest environmental cost for sanitary and similar services. Overall, the service sector — real estate gained the highest real benefit, while the service sector — repair not classified elsewhere had the lowest real benefit. If Thailand were to use an indicator of environmental harm, especially within the services sector, it could help to formulate efficient policies and strategies for the country in 3 areas of development (social, economic, and environmental development).