EXPLORING THE INTERPLAY OF GREEN INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES IN THE EGYPTIAN OIL REFINERIES SECTOR

This study examines how green investment strategies and stakeholder engagement affect sustainable development outcomes in Egypt's oil refineries sector. Structural equation modeling was applied to data from 429 respondents across Egyptian oil refineries, testing four green investment dimensions: renewable energy investment allocation, low-carbon technology investment, green finance instruments, and innovation and technology development. All four dimensions directly influence sustainable development outcomes, with stakeholder engagement partially mediating those relationships. The model explains 64.2% of the variance in stakeholder engagement and 68.4% of the variance in sustainable development outcomes. Low-carbon technology investment had the strongest direct effect among the investment dimensions (β = 0.331, p < 0.001), but stakeholder engagement showed a considerably larger effect (β = 0.686, p < 0.001) which suggests that how refineries engage stakeholders may do more for sustainable outcomes than where they direct their investment dollars. For oil refinery operators and policymakers in emerging economies, the results point toward stakeholder engagement as an underleveraged variable in sustainability strategies -one that may deserve more deliberate attention than investment allocation alone typically receives.