Overview
- Amazon, which published its 2025 Sustainability Report on Wednesday, said its total greenhouse gas emissions rose about 16% to roughly 80.9 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent for the year.
- The company attributes the rise mainly to a rapid expansion of AI data centers that drove a roughly 34% increase in emissions from purchased electricity and increased capital‑goods emissions from construction and chips.
- Amazon’s supply‑chain or Scope 3 emissions now make up about three quarters of its footprint and grew about 20% year‑over‑year as steel, concrete and semiconductor manufacturing added large indirect emissions.
- Data center resource use also climbed with nearly 2.5 billion gallons of water withdrawn in 2025 even as Amazon says it matched 100% of its electricity use with purchased clean energy and remains committed to net‑zero by 2040.
- Employees, shareholders and analysts say the report raises pressure for clearer disclosures and new strategies such as diversified siting, demand‑aware workload scheduling, low‑carbon materials and investment in firm clean power to avoid straining local grids and water supplies.