Get Blue, AWS and the Relationship Between Energy and Water

The rapid expansion of AI is forcing technology companies to rethink how they manage the resources needed to run digital infrastructure.

While electricity demand from data centres continues to dominate industry discussion, water is becoming an equally important consideration as operators look to cool increasingly powerful computing systems without placing additional strain on local communities.

For Amazon, these challenges are closely connected.

As the company invests more and more in AI and cloud infrastructure, it is also broadening its work on water stewardship through Get Blue, a global initiative designed to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Alongside its growing renewable energy portfolio and efforts to improve data centre efficiency, Amazon is positioning responsible water management as another pillar of its long-term infrastructure strategy.

Bringing water into the AI infrastructure conversation

Get Blue was set up at Davos this year, in partnership with Water.org, with a mission of uniting businesses, creators and consumers behind efforts to tackle one of the world's most pressing sustainability issues: access to safe water.

The initiative combines corporate funding with customer engagement, creating new ways for businesses to contribute towards projects that expand access to clean water across the globe.

Amazon is among the founding partners alongside Gap, Starbucks and Ecolab.

Each organisation is supporting the initiative differently. Gap has launched a limited-edition product collection that contributes to Water.org through purchases, Starbucks has linked donations to selected drinks sales and Ecolab has committed US$1m through the Ecolab Foundation based on customer water-saving achievements.

The campaign is also being supported by organisations including TikTok, Ripple and AccuWeather, demonstrating how technology, finance and consumer brands can collaborate to increase both funding and public awareness.

The challenge remains significant. More than 2.1 billion people worldwide still lack access to safe drinking water and forecasts suggest global freshwater supplies could face a 40% shortfall by 2030.

Water.org says it has already enabled more than 92 million people to gain lasting access to safe water or sanitation and aims to reach 200 million people before the end of the decade through initiatives including Get Blue.

Supporting sustainable growth in cloud computing

Amazon's involvement in Get Blue complements broader efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its expanding cloud operations.

Since 2020, the company has helped provide access to safe water or sanitation for more than 1.25 million people through Water.org. It is now encouraging customers to participate through services across the Amazon ecosystem.

Users of Alexa+ can activate Amazon-funded donations through voice commands, Amazon Music listeners can generate contributions by streaming participating playlists and customers can support Water.org through dedicated Get Blue storefronts.

“It’s the summer of Get Blue! And I’m genuinely excited to share the ways that everyone reading this can help us support Water.org’s life-changing work,” writes Kara Hurst, Chief Sustainability Officer at Amazon, on LinkedIn.

“At Amazon, we’ve been working on water stewardship for years by reducing water use across our operations, reusing water where we can and funding replenishment projects in communities where we operate. Get Blue doesn’t replace any of that work – it’s just the logical next step!

These initiatives also support Amazon's ambition to become water positive by 2030, returning more water to communities than its operations consume. 

As AI adoption gathers pace and demand for cloud services continues to increase, companies are finding that sustainable growth depends on managing both electricity and water resources effectively.

Across its data centres, AWS currently uses air-based cooling systems about 90% of the time, only turning to water during moments of peak activity. When these moments come, the company uses non-potable waste water which is recycled around the sites.

This kind of circular approach is better for water consumption, sure, but it is also energy-efficient, as new water does not have to be pumped into the system so frequently.

Improving efficiency across data centres

AI has dramatically increased the computing power required within hyperscale data centres, placing additional pressure on electricity networks while also intensifying the need for efficient cooling technologies.

Although energy consumption often receives the greatest attention, cooling systems can also require substantial water resources, particularly during warmer conditions.

Amazon Web Services says it has redesigned many of its facilities to reduce both energy and water demand.

Around 90% of the time, AWS data centres use free-air cooling, relying on outside air rather than water-intensive cooling systems.

“AWS is now the first cloud provider to show customers exactly how much water we withdraw on their behalf, based on their actual cloud usage,” writes Alexis Bateman, Head of Sustainability at AWS, on LinkedIn.

“Today, we’re adding that visibility to the AWS Sustainability console. We built it because you can’t improve what you can’t see and customers told us they wanted the same clarity on water that we provide on carbon. Now they can see both, in the same place.

“Transparency isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’ anymore – it’s a prerequisite for building trust.”

Water-based cooling is only required during warmer operating periods, accounting for around 10% of annual cooling demand.

Since 2021, Amazon says it has improved water efficiency by more than 50%, reducing consumption to approximately 0.15 litres per kilowatt-hour of computing capacity even as it continues to scale AI infrastructure.

The company is also increasing the use of reclaimed water instead of potable supplies. More than two dozen Amazon facilities already operate entirely on reclaimed water and contracts are in place for more than 130 additional sites worldwide.

Balancing energy demand with resource stewardship

Water conservation forms part of a wider strategy to reduce the environmental footprint of Amazon's digital infrastructure.

Alongside efficiency improvements inside its facilities, AWS continues investing in renewable energy generation, battery storage and electricity grid upgrades that can help accommodate growing demand from AI while supporting wider decarbonisation efforts.

The company is also working alongside utilities to expand network capacity in ways that minimise pressure on surrounding communities and improve long-term grid resilience.

Amazon says its data centres also deliver economic benefits through employment, tax revenues, infrastructure investment and STEM education initiatives.

As AI places ever greater demands on electricity systems, operators are increasingly being judged on how responsibly they manage every resource required to support digital growth.

By combining energy investment with improved water stewardship and wider community initiatives, Amazon is seeking to demonstrate that the future of AI infrastructure depends as much on resource efficiency as computing power.