This paper aims to offer an advanced assessment methodology for sustainable national energy-environment-economic efficiency strategies, based on an extended Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The use of novel efficiency-improving approaches based on DEA originates from the so-called Distance Friction Minimisation (DFM) method. To design a feasible improvement strategy for low-efficiency DMUs, we develop here a Target-Oriented (TO) DFM model. However, in many real-world cases input factors may not be flexibly adjusted in the short run. In this study, we integrate the TO-DFM model with a fixed (inflexible) factor (FF) approach to cope with such more realistic circumstances. Super-efficiency DEA is next used in our comparative study on the efficiency assessment of energy-environment-economic targets for the EU, APEC and ASEAN (A&A) countries, employing appropriate data sets from the years 2003 to 2012. We consider two inputs (primary energy consumption and population) and two outputs (CO2 and GDP), including a fixed input factor (viz. population). On the basis of our DEA analysis results, EU countries appear to exhibit generally a higher efficiency than A&A countries. The above-mentioned TO-DFM-FF projection model is able to address realistic circumstances and requirements in an operational sustainability strategy for efficiency improvement in inefficient countries in the A&A region. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.