This study addresses the growing importance of integrating innovation into corporate sustainability strategies by examining the financial and environmental performance of ten firms listed on the Borsa Istanbul Sustainability Index over a five-year period. The main objective is to develop and test a novel, data-driven analytical framework that reduces reliance on subjective expert judgments while providing actionable insights for sustainability-oriented decision-making. Within this framework, the entropy method from the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach is first applied to calculate the objective weights of sustainability criteria, ensuring that the analysis is grounded in real performance data. Building on these weights, an innovative reverse Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) model, implemented through a custom artificial neural network-based software, is introduced to estimate direct influence matrices and reveal the causal relationships among criteria. This methodological advance makes it possible to explore how environmental and financial factors interact with R&D expenditures and to simulate their systemic interdependencies. The findings demonstrate that R&D serves as a central driver of both environmental and financial sustainability, highlighting its dual role in fostering corporate innovation and long-term resilience. By positioning R&D as both an enabler and outcome of sustainability dynamics, the proposed framework contributes a novel tool for aligning innovation with strategic sustainability goals, offering broader implications for corporate managers, policymakers, and researchers.

Sustainability is a key focus for the machinery manufacturing industry, aiming to align innovation with environmental and economic goals. This research proposes an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-based framework to evaluate and rank sustainability-focused innovation criteria. The model was validated using 54,054 projects from CORDIS and TÜBİTAK and a survey of 46 experts from academia, industry, and the public sector. According to AHP results, Economic Criteria ranked highest (46%), followed by Product-Related Environmental (18%), Market (16%), Process-Related Environmental (13%), and Social Criteria (7%). Product Cost (45%), Elimination of Hazardous Substances (30%), and Occupational Health and Safety (29%) ranked highest among sub-criteria, reflecting the dominance of financial and regulatory priorities. Social and process-related criteria were less prioritized unless linked to regulatory compliance. The framework provides a practical tool for innovation leaders and policymakers aiming to embed sustainability in strategic planning. It aligns with global initiatives like the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal, contributing to both theory and practice in industrial sustainability.