Tom Fox welcomes Tim Springer to the ESG Report. Tim is CEO and founder of Level Access, a digital accessibility company that provides technology accessibility compliance solutions for corporations, government agencies, and leading educational institutions. In this week’s show, he and Tom discuss the role digital accessibility plays in ESG.
Level Access’s Niche in the Market
Tom asks Tim what led him to found Level Access. Tim explains that he and his colleagues first created a website to make finding wheelchair-accessible museums in Europe easy and convenient, but that idea was not successful. They did find that digital accessibility was a fruitful idea so they decided to make all websites user accessible. Level Access was born from this. It evolved into digital accessibility and enforcement.
What is Digital Accessibility?
Tom asks Tim to define digital accessibility. Digital accessibility refers to how usable all possible users – regardless of their ability or disability – find a website, app, or other digital experience. Tim explains, “When you build a digital asset there are rules that you can follow to ensure that it’s usable to people with disabilities, and if you don’t follow those rules it will not be usable to people with disabilities, and you will often face legal liability associated with that.” He adds that this is a lucrative field because in recent years, ESG evangelists have been promoting inclusivity and equity. “Organizations would want to be seen implementing accessibility because it allows them to tell a good equity story,” he points out.
The Relationship Between ESG and Digital Accessibility
Tom asks Tim how he sees digital accessibility as it relates to ESG. Tim replies that a major component of ESG is diversity and inclusion, and the public is demanding companies to answer these questions: ‘Do you have a diverse population?’ and ‘Are you providing equivalent access for everyone in your organization?’ This is where the social aspect of ESG plays in. Additionally, due to a recent executive order from the Biden administration, accessibility will be added to the ESG trifecta of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Looking Ahead
Tom asks Tim where he sees digital accessibility in 2025 from the corporate perspective. Digital accessibility will move beyond simply a regulatory response to a more far-reaching answer. Tim expects that by 2025, digital accessibility will be one of the three core digital governance activities that organizations follow – digital security, digital privacy, and digital accessibility.
Resources
Tim Springer | LinkedIn | Twitter
Level Access
