Company Report

Guidelines
Think About:

 Who is the report aimed at

 What is the purpose of the report
 How is the report going to be used
 What do the readers/users want to know
 Recommendations

NB – Don’t be put off by huge reports that students have done in previous years!
Shorter is often better but make sure you have sufficient information in the report to
justify all the recommendations you make. Talk to your company supervisor about
what they want from the report, otherwise it’ll sit on a shelf and collect dust!

Report Writing – Essentials

 Clarity
 Structure
 Explanations
 References
 Confidentiality

Typical Report Structure

 Contents
 Executive Summary
 Introduction & Background
 Company Processes and Activities (audit reports only)
 Key Findings & analysis
 Opportunities and Recommendations
 Optional sections (see below)
 References
 Appendices

Executive Summary

This is a one page summary at the start of the report which summarises the
key findings. It should include:

 Purpose of project
 Brief project methodology
 Key findings
 Recommendations
 Potential commercial and environmental benefits from implementing
recommendations
 Summary of recommendations
Introduction & Background

This should include:

 Overview of Company
 Background to project
 Aims/objectives of project
 Project Methodology

Process & Activities

This is optional but very useful for projects that have involved a waste,
water and / or energy audit as it charts the core activities, inputs and
outputs. This should include:

 Products manufactured/services provided

 Process flow diagram
 Key Inputs and Outputs
 Costs and usage

D is c h a r g e s to s e w e r
O zone

P r o d u c t & P a c k a g in g
L a b e l m a t e r ia l s
7 3 0 to n n e s
p a p e r / f i lm
O r ig in a t io n & 480
to n n e s

I n k s / c h e m ic a l s / o t h e r
m a t e r ia ls
P r in t in g p r o c e s s e s
U V L e tte rp re s s ? to n n e s

P a c k a g i n g m a t e r i a ls U V F le x o O v e r s g iv e n a w a y o r
W a te r -b a s e d F le x o s o ld a t r e d u c e d r a te

D ig it a l
E n e rg y / w a te r
C u s to m e r r e tu r n s

2 5 0 to n n e s

S p e c ia l S k i p D is p o s a l
w a s te

Project Findings and Analysis

This is the main body of the report and where you provide all the
justification for the recommendations you are making. It should include:

 Key Findings and analysis of what this means for the

company (make this section interesting to look at – graphs + diagrams etc.)
Opportunities and Recommendations

This section details the financial, environmental (and commercial) aspects

of the opportunities open to the company based on your findings. These
are the opportunties which you will be recommending (or not) to the
company. It is the section that the financial manager will be appraising if
you are suggesting any capital investment required to achieve the cost
savings identified.

 Opportunities (environmental improvement /

business development options)
 Costs involved
 Payback Period
 Environmental benefits
 Commercial benefits

Optional sections
This section will only be relevant to some reports and its content will vary –
if in doubt discuss this section with your BEP supervisor

• Relevant Environmental Legislation

• Sources of Further Help
• Sources of Funding

References
Please ensure that all sources of information are clearly referenced

Appendices (including any confidential information / supplier contact

details)

N.B. - you should…

• Discuss report format with Business Adviser & Company Supervisor
• Ensure that your sources of information are clearly referenced and supporting
information (contact details / sources of funding or help etc) are included in
your report
• Put any confidential material in the appendix which can be removed if
necessary.
• Arrange presentation date with Company Supervisor to feed back the contents
of the report and finalize the placement. Make sure your BEP supervisor is also
at the meeting.

Writing your Company Report

• Send regular draft reports to your BEP supervisor to allow them to provide
adequate guidance on content and structure.
• BEP / BEPNE can provide bound hard copies of your final report – please make
sure you give us plenty of notice that you want us to print your report.
• A final copy of your report must be submitted to BEP / BEPNE before your
receive your final week’s pay.
Final copies of your Company Report should be submitted as follows: -
• 1 paper copy to company
• 2 electronic copies
- 1 to BEP / BEPNE
- 1 for you (you may chose to print a paper copy for yourself, but think of
the trees!  )