Sustainability is like a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle. Every piece matters, but until each finds its rightful place, the bigger picture remains incomplete. At a glance, it seems simple enough, but as each piece is placed, it becomes clear that it belongs elsewhere. Countless pieces of their sustainability puzzle are available to organisations in the form of energy consumption data, satellite imagery, weather inputs, emission figures and so on. But often, they fail to see how they all fit.
The Geographic Information System (GIS) helps complete the picture. It transforms disconnected information into spatial intelligence. It is a critical enabler of sustainability, providing valuable perspectives on how organisations view their operations and environments. Data turns into insights that place the puzzle pieces exactly where they should be. Uncertainty surrounding complex sustainability decisions gives way to clarity.
As the world strives to meet the ambitious United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one factor that consistently shapes sustainability decisions is where the interventions have the maximum impact. Whether reducing carbon footprint, optimising resource use or accelerating renewable energy projects, location is a critical dimension of sustainability. The geospatial industry is now closely intertwined with the UN in achieving the SDGs, directly or indirectly. Through remote sensing, GIS, spatial analytics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones, Internet of Things (IoT) and sensors, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), etc., the geospatial industry enables the planet to move towards a sustainable future. Understanding its importance, the UN has developed the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF) to help governments and stakeholders strengthen their geospatial capabilities.
GIS in action across industries
The real value of GIS lies in its versatility. From enabling utilities to prevent or minimise outages, optimise networks and accelerate adoption of renewable energy initiatives to helping urban planners design and implement smarter and more resilient cities, GIS plays a vital role as an enabler of sustainability. It supports safer oil and gas operations through pipeline monitoring and guides mining companies in site selection and environmental rehabilitation. GIS capabilities in disaster preparedness have strengthened risk assessment and emergency response significantly.
According to Dataintelo, the global GIS market was valued at $14.8 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $32.6 billion by 2034, with stakeholders across industries considering GIS solutions as a critical decision-support infrastructure. However, perhaps no sector illustrates its value more than the energy sector.
How GIS powers the energy sector
According to the Global Energy Review 2026 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the rate of improvement in global energy intensity accelerated in 2025 after slowing in previous years. Recent IEA findings note that data centres will account for nearly 50% of electricity demand growth in the US. There is a clear need to ramp up generation, optimise distribution and balance operational efficiency.
This is where GIS services in the energy sector have become indispensable. GIS enables precision analysis of spatial variables by combining weather models, satellite imagery, terrain data and asset information with real-time operational inputs. Beyond identifying optimal sites for renewable energy assets, GIS helps evaluate environmental, social and economic constraints, strengthening pre-feasibility assessments. This results in faster and better planning, lower project risks and better-informed investment decisions. The value of GIS extends beyond planning to the entire lifecycle of renewable energy projects. Engineering, construction and operations teams use the same spatial insights to guide their decisions, enhancing collaboration and coordination.
Considering the rapid developments in the energy sector, regulatory and policy frameworks are becoming increasingly complex and varied. GIS has emerged as a powerful tool for policy analysis and compliance mapping and is helping accurately assess projects against the applicable policies/regulations to strengthen feasibility studies. It can also model the spatial impact of policy changes, enabling organisations to assess regulatory scenarios and make more informed sustainability decisions.
Completing the sustainability puzzle
What organisations need most to complete the sustainability puzzle is a single spatial view of each factor influencing their decisions. GIS services in the energy sector enable organisations to evaluate complex trade-offs by integrating technical constraints, stakeholder priorities and environmental considerations into one spatial view. As sustainability challenges become more complex and interconnected, the ability to uncover hidden relationships across the entire puzzle becomes invaluable. GIS arms organisations with the spatial intelligence needed for this endeavour. More importantly, it equips organisations to establish, measure and demonstrate sustainability outcomes with greater transparency.
How Infosys BPM can help
A GIS Centre of Excellence is at the core of Infosys BPM’sGIS services spanning multiple industries such as utilities, energy, telecom, mining and more. From mapping, application development, mapping activities and data creation to modelling and analytics, our solutions help transform outcomes across the customer asset value chain.
