Accessibility statement
Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
This accessibility statement applies to: https://www.climatexchange.org.uk/
This website is run by ClimateXChange, which is based at the University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to:
- using your browser settings, change colours, contrast levels and fonts while retaining most functionality;
- utilise assistive technologies, including screen readers and speech-to-text software, to access most areas of the system;
- experience no time limits when using the site.
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. However, some of our content is technical, and we use technical terms where there is no easier wording we could use without changing what the text means.
Customising the website
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:
AbilityNet – My Computer My Way
With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate.
In order to make our website easier to read and navigate, you can change display settings such as:
- text size
- colour and contrast
- screen magnification
- style sheets
Internet Explorer remains the browser most compatible with assistive software. Internet Explorer can be used without plugins, but most websites and applications no longer actively support the browser, so you may need to use an alternative. Accessibility features and customisation in Edge, Chrome, Firefox and Safari may require you to install specific plugins. This is simple and easy to do on your own device.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- the system is not 100% fully compatible with text-to-speech assistive technologies (including Job Access with Speech (JAWS) and NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA)
- the system is not 100% fully compatible with speech-to-text assistive software (for example, Dragon NaturallySpeaking) with all browser configurations;
- users may not be able to access all content by using the keyboard alone or solely through tabbing;
- it can be difficult for the user to identify their position on the page when navigating by keyboard;
- the system does not reflow at higher levels of magnification, meaning users may have to scroll in two dimensions, especially above 175%;
- some specific action buttons are small and therefore not all the appropriate minimum size
- colour contrasts do not necessarily meet the recommended Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 AA standard;
- alternative text is not present on all non-text content;
- not all links indicate whether they open a new window or as a pop-up.
- some information is conveyed by colour only e.g., links
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:
- Email: info@climatexchange.org.uk
- Telephone: +44(0)131 651 4783
- British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact:
- Email: info@climatexchange.org.uk
- Telephone: +44(0)131 651 4783
- British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:
Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)
The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:
Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website
Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language
British Sign Language service
Contact Scotland BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates from 8.00am to 12.00am, 7 days a week.
Contact Scotland BSL service details.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
The full guidelines are available at:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations
The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria:
- Not all non-text content presented to users has alternative text
- An alternative for time-based media or audio description of the prerecorded video content is not provided
- The way the content is presented affects its meaning, and a correct reading sequence is not programmatically determined
- There may not be sufficient colour contrast between font and background colours, especially where the text size is small
- It is not possible to enlarge all text to 200% without loss of content
- Content can not be presented without loss of information or functionality, and requires scrolling in two dimensions
- Tooltips do not appear consistently on icons across the system, whether navigating by mouse or keyboard
- It is not possible to use a keyboard to access all the content
- Visual information to identify user interface components, such as keyboard focus, do not always have a sufficient contrast ratio
- Not all action buttons are the minimum correct size
- Suggestions are not provided to the user for correcting input errors
- Content is not robust enough that it can be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies
We aim to improve our website accessibility on a regular and continuous basis. See the section below (‘What we’re doing to improve accessibility’) on how we are improving our site accessibility.
We are working towards solving these problems and expect several improvements by December 2024.
Disproportionate burden
We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
At this time we believe no content is outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to address and make adequate improvements to the accessibility issues highlighted. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place by December 2024.
While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 15 December, 2023. It was last reviewed on 15 April 2025.
This website was last tested by our team and reviewed by the University of Edinburgh’s Disability Information team in December 2023 using both automated and manual methods. The site was tested on a PC, primarily using Microsoft Edge (114.0.1823.67), Firefox (102.13.oesr) and Google Chrome (114.0.5735.199).
Recent world-wide usage levels survey for different screen readers and browsers shows that Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are increasing in popularity and Chrome is now the favoured browser for screen readers:
WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey
The aforementioned three browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.
We ran automated testing using WAVE WebAIM and then manual testing that included:
- Spell check functionality;
- Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
- Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, etc);
- Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
- Data validation;
- Warning of links opening in new tab or window;
- Information conveyed in the colour or sound only;
- Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
- Operability if JavaScript is disabled;
- Use with screen reading software (for example JAWS);
- Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon Naturally Speaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
- Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
- Time limits;
- Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS).
Change log
- Added alternative text for some images where this was missing
- Addressed inconsistencies in the spellcheck function.
- Users are now alerted when details are missing from the message field in the contact box.
- Guidance on data entry has been included in the contact box.
- It is now possible to amend font size across browser settings in Firefox, Edge and Chrome.
- Increased a smaller font size to 12pt and increased continuity across headings.
- In iOS, ‘bold text’ now alters the text and fonts of the site on mobile devices.
- Ensured magnification up to 300% with reflow and without overlapping on all browsers and all parts of the website.
- It is possible to reach all content with 400% magnification level on Edge, Chrome and Firefox.
- Using keyboard navigation, the content is now reached in the right order.
- Increased contrast of selection displays and the thickness of the line, so that the user can see where they are on the page when using keyboard navigation.
- Added a ‘skip to main content’ option to improve accessibility for keyboard navigation.
- Using keyboard navigation it is now possible to access all items in the carousel, including the buttons.
- JAWS can access all content on the page and can offer correct hypertext for links.
- JAWS can now interact with links that open in a new tab/window and informs users of that.
- Enabled spell-check on all browsers and all relevant fields where the user can enter text.
- Improved data validation mechanisms with more informative alerts in all relevant fields, such as clear notification to the user when incorrect information has been included.
- Improved colour contrast of some error messages.
- Increased colour contrast ratio to at least 4.5:1, especially for hypertext.
- Corrected coding information for image links, so that the links are read correctly by accessibility software – ensured links and images are programmatically connected.
- Increased clarity/size of the carousel action button.