The off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) system is a significant step towards electrification in the remote rural regions, and it is the most convenient and easy to install technology. However, the strategic problem is in identifying the potential of solar energy and the economic viability in particular regions. This study, therefore, addresses this problem by evaluating the solar energy potential and economic viability for the remote rural regions of the Sindh province, Pakistan. The results recommended that the rural regions of Sindh have suitable solar irradiance to generate electricity. An appropriate tilt angle has been computed for the selected rural regions, which significantly enhances the generation capacity of solar energy. Moreover, economic viability has been undertaken in this study and it was revealed that the off-grid solar PV power generation system provides electricity at the cost of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 6.87/kWh and is regarded as much cheaper than conventional energy sources, i.e., around PKR 20.79/kWh. Besides, the off-grid solar PV power generation system could mitigate maximum CO₂ annually on the condition that all of the selected remote rural regions adopt the off-grid solar PV system. Therefore, this study shall help the government to utilize the off-grid solar PV power generation system in the remote rural regions of Pakistan.

Globally, increasing environmental issues are gaining attention to facilitate the adoption of green innovation for sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). Sustainable environmental practices have been well-considered in the literature; however, no study has focused on adopting green innovation practices for sustainable development. Thus, environmental management authorities are putting pressure on industries to implement green innovation criteria for SSCM operations. Moreover, it is important to select traditional suppliers to transform its practices to that of sustainable supply chains in order to achieve the industry’s sustainable supply chain goals. In response, this research identified and analyzed the green innovation criteria for SSCM and then selected a supplier that could implement green aspects in the SSCM. This study developed an integrated multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) model using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and the fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS). The objective of this study was to analyze suppliers to implement green innovation criteria for SSCM practices in the textile manufacturing companies of China. This study reviewed and identified three green innovation criteria and seventeen sub-criteria. Then, the FAHP technique was employed to analyze and rank green innovation criteria and sub-criteria. Finally, the FTOPSIS method was used to investigate and rank eight suppliers. The findings of the FAHP indicated that economic (EC) criteria were the most vital green innovation criteria in the SSCM. Furthermore, the FTOPSIS results revealed that supplier 5 was the most suitable supplier for implementing green innovation criteria in the SSCM. These findings will help managers, practitioners, and policymakers implement green innovation criteria in sustainable manufacturing supply chains.

The widespread penetration of hydrogen in mainstream energy systems requires hydrogen production processes to be economically competent and environmentally efficient. Hydrogen, if produced efficiently, can play a pivotal role in decarbonizing the global energy systems. Therefore, this study develops a framework which evaluates hydrogen production processes and quantifies deficiencies for improvement. The framework integrates slack-based data envelopment analysis (DEA), with fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS). The proposed framework is applied to prioritize the most efficient and sustainable hydrogen production in Pakistan. Eleven hydrogen production alternatives were analyzed under five criteria, including capital cost, feedstock cost, O&M cost, hydrogen production, and CO₂ emission. FAHP obtained the initial weights of criteria while FTOPSIS determined the ultimate weights of criteria for each alternative. Finally, slack-based DEA computed the efficiency of alternatives. Among the 11, three alternatives (wind electrolysis, PV electrolysis, and biomass gasification) were found to be fully efficient and therefore can be considered as sustainable options for hydrogen production in Pakistan. The rest of the eight alternatives achieved poor efficiency scores and thus are not recommended.