In the memo, ahead of the campaign’s launch, executives grappled with whether to include public disclosures about “secondary” use – water used in generating the electricity to power its datacentres.

They warned that full transparency was “a one-way door” and advised keeping AWS’s projections confidential, even as they feared that their advice could invite accusations of a cover-up. “Amazon hides its water consumption” was one negative headline the authors anticipated.

Callaghan said efficiency savings have already been achieved and pointed out that other companies also don’t count secondary water use.

Scientists balked at the selective disclosure and the choice not to include secondary use of water in the total.