In cases where we have identified a problem or area of concern, we strive to address the issue as quickly as possible.
We appreciate your feedback if you experience any issues while using our website. You can send this feedback by email to inet@hydro.com.
Issues reported by users help to make the content as accessible as possible for as many people as possible. Hydro aims to respond to all inquiries related to accessibility within three weeks.
What we do about it
In Hydro, we are working both short and long-term to address the accessibility level of hydro.com. We are committed to continuously improve and maintaining the accessibility level of hydro.com, both on the short and long-term.
Short-term
Our developers prioritize issues found during external audits by experts and internal audits. Issues are prioritized by how severely they affect users and how many users the issues affect.
Short-term improvements include:
- Provide alternative text to all meaningful images
- Provide text transcripts to all videos and podcasts
- Improve semantic markup and ensure that the headings are used in a logical order
- Improve the code quality of forms and make tables more accessible to screen readers
- Create skip links that allow users to move straight to the main content of a page
Long-term
For the long-term we are aiming to implement a better quality assurance process, and raise the internal awareness and knowledge about accessibility of Accessible Information and Communication Technology (ICT). We are also aiming to review our ICT procurement process to better ensure that accessibility is addressed in solutions provided by external vendors.
There are many kinds of assistive tools and technologies used by people with disabilities. We will strengthen our work to ensure hydro.com works well with commonly used assistive tools.
Testing and audits are being done using multiple browsers, screen readers and manual code inspection. This gives us a good representation of how the page works with screen readers, which also gives us an indication about how well the page works with many other assistive tools.
Long-term improvements include:
- Create open captions for all videos
- Create context sensitive help in our forms, such as connecting error messages to respective field in form fields.
- Improve the scalability of the site, ensuring the page is readable and functional when the text size is doubled.
- Routines for testing the accessibility level of new code added to hydro.com
- Heightened accessibility awareness and training for developers, designers, and editors working on hydro.com
Compliance
Hydro is committed to making hydro.com accessible and easy to use for as many people as possible. To achieve this, we aim to at minimum comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) level A and AA.
The current WCAG 2.0 compliance rate for hydro.com is just below 60 percent as of November 19, 2024.
In the long-term our goal is that all Hydro websites (specify the sites we are responsible for, not HBS sites) comply with level A and AA criteria in WCAG 2.1. We are not there yet, but we are working to get closer.
Hydro has its main headquarters in Oslo, Norway. In Norway it is the monitoring and auditing agency “uutilsynet” that is responsible for audits and support with regards to the legal requirements.
Norwegian citizens who are not satisfied with how we reply to accessibility related inquiries have the right to voice their complaint to Diskrimineringsnemnda.
Known issues
Keyboard navigation & focus
We are aware of certain issues with our menu when navigating with a keyboard or when using assistive technologies such as screen readers. We are actively working on improvements, but a full resolution will take time.
Non-text content
We are aware that some graphical elements lack complete or meaningful text alternatives. We are working to ensure that all images and graphics include accurate and equivalent descriptions.
Headings
On some pages, the heading structure (H1–H6) does not follow the correct hierarchical order. Some of these issues stem from how parts of the CMS have been implemented, and we are working to improve this over time. We also provide ongoing guidance to editors to ensure consistent and accessible use of headings across the site.
Alternative text for images
Some images contain alternative text that does not yet provide an adequate description of the visual content. We are continuously reviewing and improving our alt text to ensure accuracy and accessibility. We have also improved our practices for marking decorative images with empty alt text so they are correctly ignored by assistive technologies.
Maps
We know that the map on the Hydro.com start page is inaccessible for many users, including those using keyboards or screen readers. A text alternative is available on our Hydro locations page, which provides accessible access to the same information.
Charts & figures
We use Highcharts.js to display interactive charts and data visualizations. While we aim to make these charts as accessible as possible, some visualizations may still present challenges for screen reader users. We are continually working to improve the accessibility of these charts and to provide alternative representations of the data where needed.
Documents
Many of our PDF documents contain accessibility issues, including contrast problems as well as issues with tables and images of tables. In the short term, we are working to ensure that new documents are accessible by improving our templates and increasing knowledge sharing internally.
Videos
Many of our videos use open captions, which can be problematic for some users. Over time, we aim to ensure that new videos include closed captions, giving users the option to turn captions on or off as needed.
Audio
Some of our podcasts do not currently have text alternatives. We are working to ensure that future podcast initiatives include full transcripts.
Feedback
We welcome all comments on how to improve the site’s accessibility for all users. You can send us an email at inet@hydro.com.
Aktualisiert: 1. Dezember 2025