Switzerland: Giant banner targets Big Tech outside data centre site

Greenpeace activists unfurled a giant 26-by-26-metre banner outside a data centre construction site in Beringen, northeastern Switzerland, on Friday 6 November, protesting against the growing environmental impact of major technology companies.

The 676-square-metre display featured images of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos alongside the slogan "Big Tech Bros suck our water, electricity, data". Drone footage showed campaigners spreading the enormous banner across a field beside a facility being developed by US company STACK Infrastructure. Greenpeace is calling for a nationwide moratorium on new mega data centres until binding regulations are introduced to protect energy supplies, water resources and the public interest.

The environmental organisation argues that the rapid expansion of data centres is placing increasing pressure on local infrastructure. According to Greenpeace, the two facilities planned in Beringen could together consume around one and a half times as much electricity annually as the entire canton of Schaffhausen, while requiring substantial amounts of water for cooling.

The group also questions how waste heat will be reused and who will ultimately benefit from the developments. The demonstration formed part of an international campaign against the unchecked expansion of large-scale data centres, with similar actions taking place across Europe. Greenpeace is urging authorities to prioritise environmental protection and public needs over the commercial interests of technology companies.