In assembling this book, we followed a few key principles (discussed at more length in the Introduction). First, we use the term “sustainable” in a loose sense, meaning that one considers the triple bottom line in making decisions, i.e., taking into account economic, environmental, and social aspects. Second, we emphasize that sustainability is multidimensional and that measurement is key, which is why the book starts with several chapters on measurement. Third, we recognize the need to address a wide range of aspects of “sustainability” in the book, but do not necessarily aim to cover them all in every chapter. Fourth, and most importantly, we decided to let the experts who contributed these chapters speak: it is more important for readers to be exposed to a wide view of experts than just to hear our opinions. As a result, some topics may be covered in multiple chapters, while other topics are not covered at all.

在编写这本书的过程中，我们遵循了几个关键原则（在导言中有更详细的讨论）。首先，我们用“可持续性”这个词是一个松散的意思，意思是人们在做决定时考虑三重底线，即考虑经济、环境和社会方面的因素。第二，我们强调可持续性是多层面的，衡量是关键，这就是为什么这本书从几个章节开始关于衡量。第三，我们认识到需要在书中处理“可持续性”的广泛方面，但并不一定要在每一章都涵盖这些方面。第四，也是最重要的，我们决定让贡献这些章节的专家发言：对读者来说，接触专家的广泛观点比仅仅听取我们的意见更重要。因此，有些主题可能会在多个章节中涵盖，而其他主题则根本不涉及。