Raffles Consulting Services
Build an EDGE resource optimisation baseline for energy, carbon, water, waste or materials with boundaries, evidence and comparable units.
An EDGE resource optimisation baseline should show how much energy, carbon, water, waste or material the business uses before the project and where the main hotspots sit. A utility bill total is rarely enough. The baseline needs a defined boundary, period, activity level and traceable source data.
Prepare the measurement plan before consultants start. It lets the company judge proposals consistently and avoids changing the denominator after results are known.
Start with the selected activity
The official Resource Management and Optimisation page describes advisory and implementation support for energy, carbon, waste, water and materials. It currently states support of up to 70% for SMEs and up to 50% for non-SMEs, a ten-week application outcome and project completion within 12 months from approval.
The page says the advisory option examines resource usage in applicable units, analyses high-consumption hotspots, recommends measures and develops an implementation plan. Read the full option and application documents because all listed areas under the selected option must be completed.
The EDGE FAQ provides the wider applicant, cap, timing and claim rules. The Letter of Offer controls the approved project.
Fix the organisational boundary
List the legal entity, sites, processes, assets and reporting period included. Explain exclusions such as a landlord-controlled common area, outsourced process or related-company site.
Use the same boundary for baseline and projected improvement. If the project adds a new production line or outlet, show both the comparable existing operation and the planned change.
The EDGE location-evidence guide helps connect the applicant to each operating site. Resource data should follow the same entity and premises.
Choose the unit and activity driver
Record absolute use in the unit that fits the resource, such as kWh, cubic metres, tonnes or tCO2e. Add an activity driver such as production units, operating hours, occupied area, meals served or revenue only where it explains consumption.
Intensity measures can make periods comparable, but they can also hide higher total use. Report both absolute and normalised results where practical.
Document conversion factors, meter multipliers, calorific values, density assumptions and emissions factors. State the source and version for every material factor.
Gather enough history
Use a period that captures normal variation. Twelve months is often helpful for seasonality, but the right window depends on available data and business change.
Collect invoices, meter downloads, production records, waste tickets, purchase records and stock movements. Reconcile totals to finance or supplier statements and investigate gaps.
Mark estimated data clearly. Explain the method, evidence and uncertainty. Do not fill missing months with a convenient average without considering shutdowns, production changes or tariff effects.
Locate the hotspots
Break total use by site, process, asset, shift, material or waste stream. Use sub-metering, timed measurements or engineering estimates where direct data is unavailable.
Rank hotspots by absolute use, cost, controllability and data confidence. A large load may have low practical savings, while a smaller recurring loss may offer a faster change.
Keep operational context. High energy use during a production surge can be reasonable; high idle consumption after hours may indicate a control problem.
Build the counterfactual
Define what would happen without the project. Include planned growth, replacement of failed assets, regulatory requirements and ordinary maintenance.
For each proposed measure, state the calculation, capital and operating cost, implementation dependency, expected life, rebound effect and confidence range. Separate measured savings from supplier estimates.
Our EEG equipment purchase guide addresses a distinct pre-scoped equipment route. Do not use a resource-optimisation study to relabel a straightforward purchase if the selected activity does not fit.
Set a verification method
Before implementation, decide how the company will compare post-project performance. Fix the meter, period, activity adjustment, responsible person and exception rules.
Use commissioning evidence for equipment and process changes. Record weather, production, occupancy or operating-hour changes that affect the comparison.
Where carbon is reported, preserve the underlying energy or activity data and factor. A single carbon figure without the source calculation is hard to verify or update.
Prepare the application evidence
Link the baseline, hotspot analysis, consultant proposal, quotation, implementation plan and expected outcomes. Confirm that the applicant submits and manages its own application, as the official activity page states third parties are not permitted to apply or manage the grant for it.
Assign an internal project owner who understands the data and can challenge consultant assumptions. Retain the files used to build the figures rather than only a final presentation.
A reproducible starting point supports the wider choices explained in the Singapore business support decision guide, the shared cornerstone. An EDGE resource optimisation baseline is ready when another reviewer can understand the boundary and see how each proposed improvement will be measured after implementation.
## Create a measurement responsibility matrix
Assign one owner for each meter, bill, production record and conversion factor. The owner should know the source frequency, expected unit, normal range and action when data is missing. A finance total without the operational denominator can hide whether apparent savings came from lower output.
Set a monthly close date for the resource dataset. Freeze the source extract, document corrections and have operations explain material variances before the steering review. Keep weather, occupancy, production mix or other relevant adjustment factors beside the result.
When an external consultant calculates savings, require the workbook, assumptions and method in a reusable form. The company should be able to reproduce the result after the engagement ends. This turns the baseline into an operating control and supports a more credible implementation decision.