Putting Words into Action: Year One of Our Accessibility Plan
December 18, 2024

Our Accessibility Statement of Commitment: Here at Hydro, we strive for a safe and inclusive work environment where everyone has equitable access and opportunity. We are committed to identifying, preventing and removing barriers for persons with disabilities who work with us and for those who interact with our company.
Aligning with the provincial Accessibility Act, our teams created and published a three-year Accessibility Plan in late 2023, to identify, prevent and remove barriers for persons with disabilities within Hydro. The first year of the Plan focused primarily on assessment in each of our focus areas of Employment, Customer Service, Information and Communication, Information Technology and the Built Environment.
Actions in the Plan are outlined to align with three goals:
1) Employee Experiences
2) Ownership Across the Business
3) Partnerships and External Engagement
Established in 2023, with robust action taken in 2024, Hydro’s Accessibility Committee is a key component to ensure ownership and continued achievement under the three goals of the Plan to impact meaningful change.
Significant work was accomplished in 2024, including:
- Hydro’s new public facing website was published meeting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG).
- A physical site assessment was completed in Churchill Falls with InclusionNL, including a full assessment of all public facing town areas (recreation, school, grocery store, etc).
- Our employee onboarding and recruitment processes were reviewed to identify barriers with a view to support the development of new tools and processes.
- New meeting guidelines for employees were developed with an emphasis on promoting inclusion.
- Several educational/information sessions were held for employees (including Power of Language and Duty to Accommodate).
- We worked with our Customer Service team to help clarify responsibilities and gather information regarding barriers our customers may face.
- Hydro’s Accessibility Plan was presented at InclusionNL’s Accessibility Symposium.