Amazon has announced a new community investment program that will add more than $1 billion in funding over the next five years to communities where the company operates data centers in the U.S.
The initiative, called Built Together, is part of a broader set of commitments Amazon is making as investment in AI and cloud computing drives rapid construction of data center infrastructure across the country.
Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman said the company intends to direct the additional funding toward education, workforce development, energy affordability, water and energy conservation, and locally selected community priorities.
Under the education component, Amazon plans to support free community college and workforce training for residents living near its data center operations.
The company estimates that more than 300,000 students could gain access to certificate or associate degree programs over the next five years, with Amazon covering remaining out-of-pocket costs after financial aid.
Eligible areas of study are expected to include electrical work, HVAC, fiber optics, IT, healthcare, education, public safety, and advanced manufacturing.
Amazon is also expanding its Modular Training Center network. The company currently operates three centers, has six more under development, and plans to build 16 more.
Each center is designed to train approximately 2,000 to 4,000 people annually through certification programs lasting four to 16 weeks.
Amazon said that by the end of 2028, the expanded network could prepare as many as 100,000 workers annually for skilled jobs.
Built Together will also fund energy-efficiency improvements for schools, public buildings and homes in counties hosting Amazon data centers.
Amazon plans to support improvements at more than 300 schools and community buildings and more than 30,000 homes during the next five years.
Potential upgrades include HVAC systems, heat pumps, insulation, water heaters, batteries, and solar installations. Amazon estimates participating households could save approximately $700 annually on energy costs.
Amazon also said it has contracted for more than 65 water projects near its operations globally, expected to return more than 8 billion gallons of water annually to local communities.
The new investment framework will give local nonprofits, community foundations, and residents input on how Amazon deploys additional funding for priorities including roads, parks, affordable housing, fire department equipment, food security, and school improvements.
Alongside Built Together, Amazon introduced an Amazon Data Center Commitment outlining how it plans to develop and operate facilities.
The commitments include working with utilities to ensure data center electricity rates cover required energy and infrastructure improvements, eliminating nondisclosure agreements with government agencies involved in projects and holding community open houses.
Amazon also plans to publicly report data center energy use, energy efficiency, water use, water efficiency, and the percentage of power coming from carbon-free resources annually.
The company said new sites will use backup generators meeting the EPA’s Tier 4 emissions standard or equivalent standards outside the U.S.
Amazon reported a 2025 global Power Usage Effectiveness ratio of 1.14 for its data centers and said it was 75% of the way toward its goal of becoming water positive across its data center operations by 2030.
Amazon also said its average data center consumes less than 13,000 gallons of water per day, compared with approximately 170,000 gallons for what it described as a typical data center.
Over the past three years, Amazon said it has separately contributed more than $1 billion to U.S. communities where it maintains a meaningful data center presence.
