1 INTRODUCTION

Sustainability implies business resilience over time through robust economic, social and environmental systems. Sustainable business practices lead to the creation of economic value, healthy ecosystems and strong communities. Sustainable business practices are fostered through engagement with stakeholders, effective environmental management systems and good governance, all underpinned by effective measurement and evaluation (Shabanpour, Yousefi, & Farzipoor Saen, 2017).

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a technique which helps decision makers to assess the efficiency of decision making units (DMUs) (Ahmady, Azadi, Sadeghi, & Farzipoor Saen, 2013; Charnes, Cooper, & Rhodes, 1978). Recently, new DEA models have been developed to assess sustainability issues. However, DEA research into sustainability is sparse and there is a need for greater focus on this important topic. In this special issue, ground‐breaking research into new DEA models to assess sustainability of DMUs is presented. Such research will assist decision makers to manage organizations with a focus on sustainability.

The special issue also provides an opportunity for practitioners to develop and increase understanding of DEA models in sustainability evaluation. For maximum utility, authors should not only develop new DEA models but also show efficacy of real‐world applications. The responses to the call for new DEA models and applications are presented in the following six accepted articles published in Part 1 of this special edition. In the next section, we summarize the main contributions of these articles.

中文翻译：

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用于评估可持续性的新数据包络分析模型第1部分：动态数据包络分析方法

1引言

可持续发展意味着随着时间的推移，通过强大的经济，社会和环境体系，企业将具有韧性。可持续的商业惯例可创造经济价值，健康的生态系统和强大的社区。通过与利益相关者的参与，有效的环境管理体系和良好的治理，促进可持续的商业实践，所有这些都以有效的衡量和评估为基础（Shabanpour，Yousefi和Farzipoor Saen，2017年）。

数据包络分析（DEA）是一种帮助决策者评估决策单元（DMU）效率的技术（Ahmady，Azadi，Sadeghi和Farzipoor Saen，2013； Charnes，Cooper和Rhodes，1978）。最近，已经开发了新的DEA模型来评估可持续性问题。但是，DEA对可持续性的研究很少，因此需要更多地关注这一重要主题。在本期特刊中，将对新型DEA模型进行开创性研究，以评估DMU的可持续性。此类研究将帮助决策者以可持续性为重点来管理组织。

特刊也为从业者提供了发展和增加对DEA模型在可持续性评估中的理解的机会。为了最大程度地发挥作用，作者不仅应开发新的DEA模型，而且还应展示实际应用的功效。本特刊第1部分中发布的以下六篇已接受的文章中介绍了对新的DEA模型和​​应用程序的呼吁的响应。在下一部分中，我们总结了这些文章的主要贡献。