Global status in 2025
The UN Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 reports that in 2024, 2.2 billion people lacked safely managed drinking water, 3.4 billion lacked safely managed sanitation and 1.7 billion lacked basic hygiene services — with around half of the goal's measurable targets stalled or deteriorating.
Source: United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025.
European and Albanian context
Water stress is a growing consideration across southern Europe and the Mediterranean, including Malta, where freshwater scarcity is structural. For NOVARIC®, SDG 6 is addressed primarily through operational water discipline and through accommodation standards for placed workers.
NOVARIC® implementation commitments
- Verify that arranged worker accommodation meets defined standards for drinking water and sanitation access.
- Apply water-efficiency measures within NOVARIC® offices and facilities as part of the Green Initiative.
- Include water-stewardship criteria in supplier assessment where suppliers operate in water-stressed contexts.
Key performance indicators
Measured through the Manual's 90-indicator register (browse the full register):
- ENV-09 Accommodation standard compliance
- ENV-11 Office water-use intensity
- SUP-07 Supplier environmental criteria coverage
The accommodation verification standard applied to arranged worker housing includes explicit criteria for safe drinking water, functional sanitation and hygiene facilities. Properties that fail these criteria are not used, regardless of commercial convenience.