Amazon pledges more than $1 billion over five years to communities around its data centres as backlash grows

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon’s cloud computing unit, said it will invest more than $1 billion over the next five years in US communities that host its data centres. The programme, called Built Together and announced on 2 October by AWS chief executive Matt Garman, covers education, job training, energy costs, water and energy conservation projects and local priorities, with communities deciding how the money is spent.

The announcement responds to a growing backlash across the United States against the giant data centres being built for artificial intelligence. They are criticised for driving up electricity demand and bills and for consuming large amounts of water. According to a poll cited by AP, about 6 in 10 Americans, including most Democrats and Republicans, support limiting the number of new data centres. Garman wrote that the company understands the apprehension in some communities.

Amazon said it has already spent more than $1 billion in these communities over the past three years, invested $276 billion in data centres between 2011 and 2025, and expects about $220 billion in capital spending in 2026. The company aims to return more water to communities than its data centres use by 2030 and says it is 75% of the way there.

The announcement came three days after a White House meeting with technology executives, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, at which President Donald Trump urged companies to keep communities happy. Rival Microsoft said in January that it would not seek local tax breaks for its data centres.