E-GREEN LOOP: A Circular Digital Innovation for Sustainable Environmental Management in Suphanburi Primary Educational Service Area Office 1
Keywords:
Green Office, Circular Economy, Environmental Innovation, Digital for Eco-Management, Environmental CommunicationAbstract
This research aimed to develop and implement an environmental innovation entitled E-GREEN LOOP, a circular digital system designed to enhance sustainable environmental management within a government educational organization. Grounded in the integration of Green Office principles, Circular Economy (CE), Educational ICT, and Environmental Communication, the innovation targets behavioral change, resource efficiency, and digital participation among office personnel at the Suphanburi Primary Educational Service Area Office 1. The study employed Research and Development (R&D) methodology across four phases: (1) Problem Analysis through environmental audits and behavioral mapping, (2) Innovation Design combining digital tools and participatory feedback loops, (3) Implementation via pilot activities and internal communication campaigns, and (4) Evaluation using mixed-methods assessment. Five core components were developed: (1) E–Carbon Tracker (for resource monitoring), (2) Recycle Mapping (for material flow visualization), (3) Green Communication (via digital nudges), (4) Green Audit Tool (data-driven assessment), and (5) E–Green Reward System (gamified behavior reinforcement). Results indicated that the E-GREEN LOOP innovation significantly improved environmental performance and staff participation. Paper usage was reduced by 37.4%, while digital feedback mechanisms increased green behavior by 35.8%. Participants reported higher awareness and motivation for sustainable practices. The evaluation also revealed that the use of behavioral design and real-time eco-feedback was key to fostering organizational change. The study concludes that E-GREEN LOOP serves as a promising model of circular digital innovation applicable to other public-sector contexts. It contributes not only to ecological goals but also to institutional learning, systems thinking, and green policy integration.
References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Akenji, L., & Bengtsson, M. (2014). Making sustainable consumption and production the core of the sustainable development goals. Sustainability, 6(2), 513–529. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6020513
Allcott, H., & Rogers, T. (2014). The short-run and long-run effects of behavioral interventions: Experimental evidence from energy conservation. American Economic Review, 104(10), 3003–3037. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.10.3003
Anderson, A. A. (2017). Environmental communication and the public sphere (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Antikainen, M., Uusitalo, T., & Kivikytö-Reponen, P. (2018). Digitalisation as an enabler of circular economy. Procedia CIRP, 73, 45–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2018.04.027
Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Bamberg, S., & Möser, G. (2007). Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera: A new meta-analysis of psycho-social determinants of pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27(1), 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2006.12.002
Barab, S., & Squire, K. (2004). Design-based research: Putting a stake in the ground. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327809jls1301_1
Bocken, N. M. P., de Pauw, I., Bakker, C., & van der Grinten, B. (2016). Product design and business model strategies for a circular economy. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 33(5), 308–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681015.2016.1172124
Bocken, N. M. P., Short, S. W., Rana, P. & Evans, S. (2014). A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 65, 42–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.039
Boons, F., Montalvo, C., Quist, J., & Wagner, M. (2013). Sustainable innovation, business models and economics performance: An overview. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.08.013
Boonyaprapa, S., & Tansakul, S. (2017). The assessment of energy and paper consumption in Green Office pilot projects. Journal of Environmental Management Thailand, 13(2), 23–32.
Bossle, M. B., de Barcellos, M. D., Vieira, L. M., & Sauvée, L. (2016). The drivers for adoption of eco-innovation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 113, 861–872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.11.033
Mergel, I., Edelmann, N., & Haug, N. (2019). Defining digital transformation: Results from expert interviews. Government Information Quarterly, 36(4), 101385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2019.06.002
Choi, M. (2016). A concept analysis of digital citizenship for democratic citizenship education in the Internet age. Theory & Research in Social Education, 44(4), 565–607. https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.2016.1210549
Corner, A., & Randall, A. (2011). Selling climate change? The limitations of social marketing as a strategy for climate change public engagement. Global Environmental Change, 21(3), 1005–1014.
Cox, R., & Pezzullo, P. (2016). Environmental communication and the public sphere (4th ed.). Sage.
Cox, R. (2013). Environmental communication and the public sphere (3rd ed.). Sage.
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2013). Towards the circular economy: Economic and business rationale for an accelerated transition. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). Routledge.
Fuller, A., Fan, Z., Day, C., & Barlow, C. (2020). Digital twin: Enabling technologies, challenges and open research. IEEE Access, 8, 108952–108971.
Geels, F. W. (2002). Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: A multi-level perspective and a case-study. Research Policy, 31(8–9), 1257–1274.
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2017). The Circular Economy – A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048
Geng, Y., Sarkis, J., Ulgiati, S., & Zhang, P. (2013). Measuring China's circular economy. Science, 339(6127), 1526–1527. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1227059
Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Sarsa, H. (2014). Does gamification work? A literature review of empirical studies on gamification. In Proceedings of the 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 3025–3034). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.377
Hansen, A., & Cox, R. (2015). The Routledge handbook of environment and communication. Routledge.
Heeks, R. (2018). Information and communication technology for sustainable development: Defining a research agenda. Sustainable Development, 26(6), 560–576.
Hilty, L. M., Arnfalk, P., Erdmann, L., Goodman, J., Lehmann, M., & Wäger, P. (2013). The relevance of information and ommunication technologies for environmental sustainability. Environmental Modelling & Software, 56, 94–106.
Hilty, L. M., & Aebischer, B. (2015). ICT innovations for sustainability: An emerging research field. In L. Hilty & B. Aebischer (Eds.), ICT Innovations for Sustainability, 3–36. Springer.
Horbach, J., Rammer, C., & Rennings, K. (2012). Determinants of eco-innovations by type of environmental impact—The role of regulatory push/pull, technology push and market pull. Ecological Economics, 78, 112–122.
Kemp, R., & Pearson, P. (2007). Final report MEI project: Measuring eco-innovation. European Commission.
Kirchherr, J., Reike, D., & Hekkert, M. (2018). Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 127, 221–232.
Kollmuss, A., & Agyeman, J. (2002). Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environmental Education Research, 8(3), 239–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620220145401
Kritayakirana, K. (2019). Digital governance for sustainable public administration: A framework for green ICT policy in Thailand. Thai Journal of Public Administration, 17(3), 101–122.
Kronenberg, J., & Winkler, R. (2009). Eco-efficiency: Trends and perspectives. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 13(2), 159–181.
Lakoff, G. (2010). Why it matters how we frame the environment. Environmental Communication, 4(1), 70–81.
Limjirakan, S., Kranrak, N., & Wichian, K. (2020). Transformative capacity building for sustainable Green Office implementation: A case study of Thai university administration. Journal of Environmental Education, 24(1), 55–67.
Löfström, E., Petäjä, S., & Vuorio, A. (2021). Gamification in university environmental programs: Nudging staff towards eco-friendly behaviors. Sustainability, 13(3), 1142. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031142
MHESI. (2021). Thailand BCG Economy Model: Driving sustainable growth. Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. https://www.mhesi.go.th
Ministry of Education. (2017). The national education plan B.E. 2560–2579 (A.D. 2017–2036). Bangkok: Office of the Education Council.
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE). (2022). Digital Green Office Thailand Report 2021–2022. Bangkok: MNRE.
NESDC. (2018). 20-Year National Strategy (2018–2037). Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council. https://nscr.nesdc.go.th.
Nasr, N., Russell, J., & Hughes, M. (2020). Circular economy in education: A systems approach for schools and institutions. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 21(6), 1125–1142.
OECD. (2019). Green innovation in public administration: Policies and practices. OECD Publishing.
OECD. (2020). Digital Government in the Post-COVID Era: Lessons from practice. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/4de9f5bb-en
Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council. (2018). 20-Year National Strategy (2018–2037). https://nscr.nesdc.go.th
Orr, D. W. (2004). Earth in mind: On education, environment, and the human prospect. Island Press.
Panjai, P. (2021). Innovation in local administration for sustainable development in Thailand. Thai Journal of Public Administration, 19(2), 55–72.
Rennings, K. (2000). Redefining innovation - eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics. Ecological Economics, 32(2), 319–332.
Ruangrit, N. (2022). Barriers to circularity in the Thai public sector: Lessons from Green Office initiatives. Journal of Environmental Policy and Management, 18(1), 35–50.
Sancho-Gil, J. M., Rivera-Vargas, P., & Miño-Puigcercós, R. (2020). Moving beyond the predictable failure of EdTech initiatives: A research agenda for impactful and sustainable digital learning. Sustainability, 12(12), 4842. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124842
Schultz, P. W., Nolan, J. M., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., & Griskevicius, V. (2007). The constructive, destructive, and reconstructive power of social norms. Psychological Science, 18(5), 429–434.
Seebode, D., Jeanrenaud, S., & Bessant, J. (2012). Managing innovation for sustainability. R&D Management, 42(3), 195–206.
Srisontisuk, S. (2019). Environmental education and communication in Thai local governance: From awareness to action. Thai Journal of Environmental Management, 15(2), 32–49.
Sterling, S. (2010). Transformative learning and sustainability: Sketching the conceptual ground. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 5, 17–33.
Tan, A., & Koh, J. (2016). Smart campus sustainability at NUS: Digital tools and behavioral change. Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Smart City Forum, 8, 45–54.
Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (Public Organization). (2018). Green Office Manual. https://www.tgo.or.th
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press.
UNEP. (2012). Greening the Blue: The UN system’s footprint and efforts to reduce it. United Nations Environment Programme.
UNEP. (2019). Global Environment Outlook 6: Summary for Policymakers. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
Wang, F., & Hannafin, M. J. (2005). Design-based research and technology-enhanced learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504682
Yossoonthornchai, T. (2020). A review of Green Office implementation challenges in Thai government agencies. Journal of Environmental Management and Policy, 16(2), 45–59.
Zhang, Y., Zhou, Y., & Li, H. (2022). Environmental dashboards: Making sustainability visible through digital tools. Journal of Environmental Education Research, 28(1), 25–41.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Educational Communications and Technology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
