However, as Fast Company's Adele Peters reports, "a group of Amazon employees argues that the company's math is misleading." the report about Amazon’s renewable energy goal and the concerns raised by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice:

Amazon claimed that all electricity consumed by Amazon’s operations, including data centres, was matched with renewable energy in 2023.

The company invested billions in solar and wind projects globally, equivalent to powering 7.6 million U.S. homes.

However, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice argue that only 22 per cent of the company’s U.S. data centers run on clean power.

Renewable energy credits (RECs) are used to offset clean power consumption.

However, 68 per cent of Amazon’s RECs are unbundled, not directly funding new renewable infrastructure.

New data centres may inadvertently lead to fossil fuel-dependent grids building more fossil fuel power plants.

For example, Dominion Energy in Virginia, a major utility, is expanding due to demand, but this expansion relies on fossil fuels.

Amazon’s REC purchases aren’t tied to the grids powering their data centres; they may buy RECs from other regions. Data centres run continuously, but renewable energy availability varies.

Meanwhile, Google aims for carbon-free energy 24/7 on every grid where it operates, which results in a different-looking policy.