Energy sustainability blueprint: A critical analysis of macro and micro influential factors in Pakistan

Achieving energy sustainability requires conceptualised strategies that identify governing aspects and influential factors. Energy sustainability has been attempted by focusing mainly on macro aspects of the energy infrastructure (EI), while its conjunction with the micro-environment has been overlooked. Additionally, the previous literature mostly focused on other issues and ignored assessing energy sustainability considering macro and micro aspects of energy in the context of developing countries like Pakistan. Therefore, in this study, a comprehensive decision-making framework (DMF) was constructed by adopting a multiple-case study approach, which was a novel contribution to the literature. The DMF constituted influential factors (IFs) discovered by focusing on the macro and micro aspects of the entire EI and analysed by soliciting the experts’ opinions. To establish the presence of discovered IFs in the DMF, the IFs were first tested and validated by calculating the content validity index. Second, the sustainability aspects and factors were ranked based on their optimal weights calculated using the best-worst method (BWM) and compared using a statistical mean scoring technique. The significance index of IFs was then calculated to determine their essential potential for the DMF. Referring to the quantitative assessment of IFs, the problem and objectives trees encompassing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the EI of Pakistan were established. Findings revealed that micro aspects, such as ‘energy system flexibility’, ‘share of renewables in the energy mix’, and ‘durability of renewables’ were more critical than macro aspects. The study findings will aid policymakers, stakeholders, and government agencies from developing countries like Pakistan to get better insight into the impact of each macro and micro factor for developing sustainable energy infrastructure.