Amazon pledges over $1B to data center communities, drawing more criticism

Amazon’s $1B plan to combat data center backlash draws more backlash

Amazon pledged Friday to give more than $1 billion over five years to communities around its data centers. Environmental group Stand.Earth called it damage control and corporate PR. Amazon says communities will decide how the money is used, and promises its data centers will not raise power bills or drain local water, targeting net-positive water use by 2030, with 75% of projects already meeting that bar. Stand.Earth questions whether a power plant Amazon backs could become the largest US source of climate pollution, noting the community pledge does not mention that plant and rarely addresses pollution.

Why it matters: Amazon answers data center protests with community money and water and power promises, while an environmental group questions the pollution from a plant it backs.