The Benefits of Sustainable Ground Control Points: Why Surveyors Choose DronePoints

January 1, 2025

In today’s competitive surveying and drone mapping industry, precision is essential, but it’s no longer the only priority. Increasingly, clients expect tools and practices that align with sustainability and reduce environmental impact. DronePoints, crafted from rapidly renewable sugarcane materials, meet these expectations head-on while offering unmatched durability and accuracy.

Let’s explore why DronePoints are the professional’s choice, compared to competing solutions made of plastic, and how they solve challenges for surveyors working in demanding environments.

The Challenges of Non-Sustainable Materials

1. Changing Client Expectations

Clients, particularly land developers focused on green initiatives, increasingly expect their partners to prioritize sustainability. Showing up to a project with makeshift plastic bucket lids or flimsy tarps can send the wrong message—particularly when working in environmentally sensitive or public spaces. 

2. Waste and Environmental Concerns

Plastic targets are often discarded after just a few uses due to wear and tear and UV exposure. With each plastic target weighing roughly one pound, they contribute significantly to non-biodegradable waste in landfills and natural habitats. For surveyors operating in protected areas, using materials that create unnecessary waste can conflict with project goals and client initiatives. Environmental waste isn’t the only concern here, think about the valuable time wasted on the unorganized and labor intensive plastic targets.

3. Fragility in Real-World Conditions

Plastic targets aren’t built to handle the rigors of fieldwork or meet accuracy requirements. They crack under pressure, degrade in extreme weather, and fail to stay in place in windy or wet conditions. To make matters worse, targets perceived as plastic waste are more often removed by pedestrians. Replacing lost targets adds time, cost, and stress to a project that demands reliability.

The DronePoints Solution

Crafted for Durability

DronePoints are built from rapidly renewable sugarcane materials, ensuring they stand up to tough conditions. They’re wind- and water-resistant, so you can trust them to stay in place and perform reliably, no matter the weather or terrain. Read more about our design here: Link

Designed with Professionals in Mind

DronePoints come organized in a rugged carrying case with designated slots for nails. This keeps your equipment secure, easy to transport, and ready to deploy. Unlike plastic targets scattered in the back of a truck, DronePoints streamline your workflow from start to finish.

A Smarter Approach to Sustainability

Lets face it, plastic target lifespans are short lived and are a huge pain to deploy and reuse. DronePoints help surveyors reduce waste and wasted time without compromising performance. They offer a practical solution that aligns with modern sustainability goals, enhancing your reputation and meeting client expectations.

Made for Reuse

DronePoints pair perfectly with our removal tool, allowing you to extract targets cleanly and reuse them across multiple projects. This saves both time and money while keeping your workflow efficient.

The Industry Shift: Why Sustainability Matters

Sustainability is no longer a “nice-to-have” feature—it’s a necessity. Land developers and construction professionals are driving demand for greener practices across all phases of their projects, including surveying and drone mapping.

By choosing tools like DronePoints, surveyors can meet these expectations head-on, improving their standing in a competitive market and contributing to a more responsible approach to land development.

Conclusion: Choose Precision and Sustainability with DronePoints

The surveying industry is evolving, and tools like plastic aerial targets are no longer enough to meet client and environmental demands. DronePoints offers a solution that combines precision, durability, and sustainable materials, helping you deliver better results while aligning with client expectations.