CSR Report 2017: Siteimprove Takes Global Action to Move Digital Accessibility Up the Agenda

Copenhagen, Denmark – June 11, 2018 – Today Siteimprove released its eighth corporate social responsibility (CSR) report demonstrating its strong commitment to provide people of all abilities around the world easy access to websites. This report accounts for the global actions taken during 2017 to improve digital accessibility and has been published in accordance with the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest CSR initiative. Siteimprove has been a member of this initiative since 2010. In 2017, the company’s CSR commitment was taken a step further by committing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are part of the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

“We believe Siteimprove is uniquely positioned to contribute to the SDGs within digital human rights. We have chosen to focus on goals 4, 10, and 17 where we can be a catalyst for change and make an impact with our technology, culture of innovation, and expertise in web accessibility,” says Morten Ebbesen, CEO of Siteimprove.

As part of the 2017 CSR report, Siteimprove conducted a first-ever global survey named “Accessibility State of the Globe” that provides a status on the accessibility level of both the public and private sectors in the countries where Siteimprove operates. The survey provides an average private sector accessibility score by looking at the 100 most visited pages of the 100 biggest companies in each country. A similar score is calculated for the public sector by analyzing the websites of selected local councils, governments, and agencies.

According to survey results, the private sector is currently doing slightly better than the public sector in all markets except in the United Kingdom and Italy. The public sector, however, generally exhibits a poor level of accessibility, which leaves room for improvement. Only one public organization was found to have a world-class level of accessibility. In the private sector, the majority of countries experience a medium level of accessibility. As in the public sector, only one private organization was found to have a world-class level of accessibility.

“The average accessibility score for the public sector across all countries is 65. This score corresponds to what we have defined as a poor performance. The private sector average score is 71 corresponding to medium, which is slightly better, but still far away from good, very good, or even world-class performance. These results represent a burning platform for change and we hope to witness increasing accessibility levels going forward,” says Ebbesen.

Digital accessibility for all, especially those with different kinds of disabilities and impairments, is widely recognized as the key to digital inclusion and has been a longstanding item on the agenda since the early 1990’s. Despite a range of policies, guidelines and initiatives launched by countries, regions and global alliances, the overall scorecard on web accessibility remains mixed at best and highly-insufficient at worst. This stagnation calls for action since people with disabilities are currently estimated to exceed one billion across the globe, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

About Siteimprove A/S

Siteimprove transforms the way organizations manage and deliver their digital presence. With the Siteimprove Intelligence Platform, you gain complete visibility and deep insights into what matters, empowering you and your team to outperform the status quo with certainty every day. With a worldwide customer base of more than 7,000 customers, Siteimprove serves dozens of markets from offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Minneapolis, Oslo, Sydney, Toronto, and Vienna. For more information, visit siteimprove.com.