Leaked Memo Reveals Amazon Hid Data Centers' Full Water Use

A leaked internal memo reveals that Amazon deliberately withheld full information about its data centers' water consumption to protect its corporate image, excluding 'secondary' water use—water consumed for electricity generation—from its public sustainability reporting. The document shows Amazon used 105 billion gallons of water in 2021, enough for nearly a million U.S. households, but publicly disclosed only 7.7 billion gallons of primary water use in its Water Positive campaign launched in November 2022, which promises to return more water than it uses by 2030. Amazon spokeswoman Margaret Callahan called the memo "obsolete" and argued it misrepresents the company's current water usage strategy, emphasizing that the company has improved efficiency and that other firms also omit secondary water use. Critics and scientists have challenged Amazon's selective disclosure approach, noting that competitors like Microsoft and Google provide full water consumption transparency. The controversy highlights ongoing concerns about Amazon's rapid data center expansion amid rising demand for AI services and the environmental impact of cooling these facilities. The revelations underscore the tension between corporate sustainability claims and actual environmental footprints in tech industry reporting.