The importance of reducing carbon emissions to safeguard the environment for generations is widely recognized worldwide. Countries are putting in efforts to lower their carbon footprint, aiming towards achieving carbon neutrality also termed as net zero emissions. This research seeks insights from manufacturing experts on how sustaileanant (sustainable + lean) innovations can support the journey towards net zero in manufacturing supply chains, making them more environmentally friendly. We initially determined the critical success factors (CSFs) of sustaileanant innovations that can help achieve net-zero emissions in manufacturing supply chains and validated through manufacturing experts using a validatory survey. Further, employing a robust two-step approach involving strong ordering data envelopment analysis (SODEA) and machine learning (ML) based Bayesian network (BN), we aimed to understand the significant CSFs driving this transition from traditional carbon-heavy manufacturing practices to a net zero objective. Our study involved gathering input from 125 professionals in the manufacturing sector for employing SODEA-BN methodologies. The findings highlight that incentive schemes for organizations, availability of professional expertise, and availability of funds for implementing sustaileanant practices are crucial for organizations to transform and achieve carbon neutrality. In this study, the recommendations provided in line with sustainable development goals (SDGs) will guide practitioners and academicians in understanding the critical sustaileanant factors for a successful net-zero achievement.