THE CRUNCH
Amazon has committed to donating more than $1 billion over the next five years to communities that neighbour its data centres, a move announced on Friday that appears aimed at softening local opposition to the sprawling facilities. The pledge, reported by Ars Technica, arrives amid a broader backlash over how data centres affect power and water in the places that host them, and it has itself drawn further criticism.
In a press release, Amazon Web Services chief executive Matt Garman said communities would decide how to prioritise the funds across "education, job training, energy affordability, water, and energy preservation, and local priorities." Amazon also laid out wider commitments, promising that its data centres would not push up power bills or drain local water supplies. On the water front, the company pledged to be "water positive" by 2030 and claimed that 75 percent of projects have already met that goal.