Analyzing the Application of the Sustainable Development Goals for Egypt Using a Neutrosophic Goal Programming Approach

Abstract

Abstract Sustainable development necessitates the implementation of appropriate policies that integrate multiple competing objectives on economic, environmental, energy, and social criteria. Multi-criteria decision analysis with goal programming is a popular and widely used technique for studying decision problems with multiple competing objectives. Real-world situations frequently involve imprecise and incomplete information, making neutrosophic goal programming models the most appealing option. We presented a novel neutrosophic goal programming model that incorporates optimal resource allocation to simultaneously satisfy prospective goals on economic development, energy consumption, workforce, and greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2030, as applied to Egypt’s key economic sectors in this paper. We also compared the outcomes of fuzzy goal programming and neutrosophic goal programming. We show that neutrosophic goal programming approach is more accurate than fuzzy goal programming approach because it deals with incomplete and indeterminate information and has three independent degrees: truth membership degree, indeterminacy–membership degree, and falsity–membership degree. The presented model examines opportunities for improvement and the effort required to implement sustainable development plans. The model also provides valuable insights to decision makers for strategic planning as well as investment allocations for sustainable development. Numerical illustration is also provided for validation and application of the proposed model.