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7.2. Formal report

In a minimum 1,750-word report, recommend one or more solutions to address a sustainability problem or challenge in your organization. Your report should be based on the primary and secondary research you've done. It should be addressed to a decision maker in your organization -- the person or group of people who has the power to implement your recommendation, such as your supervisor, an executive, the board of directors of your organization, etc.

Your report should have the following components:

Title page

Provide a descriptive title, your name and the date; specify for whom your report is prepared (See Cardon 396)

Executive Summary (about 250 words)

Recap the whole report, including recommendations (See Cardon 401)

Introduction (about 250 words)

Describe the business problem or challenge and the purpose of the report; preview the contents of the report (about 250 words) (See Cardon 401-402)

Findings (at least 1,000 words)

Provide facts from your secondary and primary research, including details of possible solutions, one or more of which you will recommend (see Cardon 402-406). This part should be organized into sections that have descriptive headings that tell the story of the report. (See Cardon 396)

Recommendation(s) (about 250 words)

Provide conclusions about what your organization should do based on your research. List specific solution(s) that are tailored to your organization in bullet points. (See Cardon 407)

Documentation

Provide MLA style in-text citations and a Works Cited page of all sources used in the report.

Other components

Your report should include explanations that justify the solution(s) based on at least two parts of the triple bottom line (people, planet and profit). At least one justification should be based on the single bottom line (profit). These explanations should be placed in findings.

For readability, the report should have the aforementioned descriptive headings, preview statements, and bulleted and/or enumerated lists. It could include a chart or table. It should have an objective, positive tone. It should avoid the first-person singular ("I") although the third-personal plural ("We") may be acceptable when referring to the organization.

It should demonstrate all the style and language principles we discussed, such as you viewpoint, positive emphasis, parallelism, etc.