This study presents an extension of a recently proposed concept and metric by the authors named "Sustainability profit" to "Sustainability net present value" for the purpose of synthesizing more sustainable large-scale energy supply networks. The concept and metric are based on a composite sustainability measurement considering economic, environmental and social pillars and expressed in monetary terms from a wider macro-economic perspective that combines both the governmental and the industrial view. By using the proposed metric, it is possible to obtain answers regarding the advisability of a particular investment in terms of sustainability. The concept is illustrated by two examples: (i) a smaller case study presenting an electricity supply network consuming fossil and/or renewable energy sources, and (ii) a larger-scale renewable energy supply network considering biomass, waste, solar, wind and geothermal energies on an EU continental scale. Solutions obtained to problems regarding maximizing Sustainability net present value occur at the trade-off between economic profitability, environmental (un)burdening, and new jobs created, considering the time value of the money involved. (C) 2018 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.