Achieving Sustainable Goals Using an Effective Budget-Allocation Multicriteria Mives Model: Case Study of a Spanish Water Utility Company

Abstract

Within the global sustainability agenda, companies must align their operations with specific Sustainable Goals (SGs) and develop corresponding budgeting strategies. This paper presents a robust multicriteria decision-making model tailored for a Spanish utility company specializing in water services. The model ensures that financial allocations reflect the company's vision and its interpretation of sustainable development within its service areas. This approach aims to promote objectivity, traceability, and sustainability in decision-making, as a critical component in achieving SGs. The article emphasizes the importance of aligning water companies' budget allocations with SGs, highlighting key indicators for consideration. It provides a practical illustration of how the company's financial allocations were synchronized with SGs using a multicriteria decision-making model. A case study is included, involving a budget allocation of 40 million euros compared across four scenarios with the historical average of budgets from the Past Three Investment Plans (P3IP). The results reveal significant variations in budget allocation across different infrastructure categories, demonstrating the system's robustness, such as a 70% variation in production infrastructures, 27% in transportation, 25% in distribution, and 40% in the remaining areas, depending on the scenario.