Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, owned by Alphabet, have recently halted multi-billion-dollar data center construction projects due to community opposition. Now, these companies are facing pressure from shareholders concerning the environmental impact of their operations.

Ahead of the spring annual general meetings, more than a dozen investment firms are pushing these tech giants to disclose more information about water usage and conservation efforts during their data center expansion, according to Reuters interviews.

Andrea Ranger, Head of Shareholder Advocacy at Boston-based asset manager Trillium Asset Management, which oversees over $4 billion in assets, stated that the firm submitted a shareholder proposal to Alphabet in December. The proposal demands clarity on how the company plans to meet its climate goals amid surging energy demands from data centers.

Alphabet committed in 2020 to halve its carbon emissions and fully transition to carbon-free energy by 2030. However, Trillium pointed out that the company’s emissions have instead increased by 51%, and investors remain "in the dark" about its specific plans to achieve these targets.

A similar proposal submitted by Trillium last year received support from nearly a quarter of independent shareholders.

Meanwhile, Giovanna Eisner, Shareholder Advocacy Manager at Green Century Capital Management, mentioned that the firm is in discussions with NVIDIA about submitting a resolution to "ensure that short-term gains in the AI sector do not come at the expense of long-term climate and financial risks," though she declined to provide further details.

Questioning Water Usage Shareholders are also demanding greater transparency regarding water consumption. Data from market research firm Mordor Intelligence indicates that data centers in North America are projected to use nearly one trillion liters of water by 2025, roughly equivalent to the annual water consumption of New York City.

Although Meta Platforms, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have adopted closed-loop cooling systems that significantly reduce water usage in their data centers, their water disclosure practices vary.

Meta’s 2025 environmental report included water usage for its owned data centers but excluded leased and under-construction facilities. Its total water consumption rose from 3.726 billion liters in 2020 to 5.637 billion liters in 2024—a 51% increase—enough to supply more than 13,000 households for a full year.

Google’s 2025 environmental report provided water data for both owned and leased data centers but omitted third-party operated sites. Amazon and Microsoft disclosed total water usage but did not break down the figures by facility in their 2025 sustainability reports.