How RNIB is utilising big business to bolster its accessibility agenda with Government

During the Labour Party Conference, a fringe event hosted by the charity saw representatives from Google, ITV and Procter & Gamble outline the work that their organisations are undertaking to make their products more accessible – and the challenges they have faced in getting buy-in for the inclusivity message.

OT spoke to Vivienne Francis, chief social change officer at the RNIB, to find out how big business can help the third sector spread the word and work to influence legislative change.

How successful has the Labour Party Conference been for RNIB?

It has been successful. We have really engaged with corporates, trying to establish more of a joined-up, multi-sector approach across a lot of different policy areas. That has included hosting our fringe event with Google, Procter & Gamble and ITV, on the Sunday evening, which was well-attended.

We’re trying to engage a bit differently with business, and see what solutions we can come up with together. We’re lucky in that we’ve got early adopters across different sectors, looking at areas including accessibility.

Does engaging big organisations like Procter & Gamble and Google helps legislatively with what RNIB wants to achieve?

I think it does, in two ways. These businesses are working across multiple territories. Christopher [Patnoe], the partner from Google, was talking about the accessibility legislation that they have in Europe, so we are also taking note of that and lobbying our government to see how it could be applied here. We have had a response, and they are looking at that across multiple government departments.

It is good to know we’re in sync with a company like Google, which is also taking notice of what is working across territories in Europe, and how that could be applied elsewhere, to almost get ahead of that.

Commercial companies are often early adopters. Sometimes, we see that they are doing things out of goodwill, but when they can start to prove that has an impact on the bottom line it encourages other businesses to consider accessibility too – that it isn’t just an add-on; it can be good for business. Also, I think it helps us talk to government about legislation, because there are businesses who are already applying these practices.

We’re just one charity, and one cause. At the conference, all the individual charities are talking about their own causes. But we are stronger by joining forces. That could be in a pan-disability way, but equally, in a multi-sector way. I think that it’s easier for government to latch on to solutions, if you’re working them out collectively.

At the conference, all the individual charities are talking about their own causes. But we are stronger by joining forces

What legislative changes is RNIB specifically looking for?

There are multiple, and they are varied. But if we take accessibility in general, there are some grey areas under the Equality Act. This includes accessible packaging. It was really interesting to see Procter & Gamble talk at the fringe event about the innovations they are putting in place around packaging – in an innovation sense, not because they have to meet a legislative standard.

That is a huge area where we could look to see if there is something more legislative – a solution to tighten up the Equality Act, and remove those grey areas so that that becomes more mandatory.

It eases the way, because you already have businesses embracing that in a creative way. You’ve already got people showing what that can do for business and for customers.

Is that the key message that you have been pushing across the conference?

Our focus has been around accessibility and inclusion. That isn’t just limited to packaging – it’s across the board, including in terms of accessible technology, particularly when it does come to consumerism and people wanting to shop online. You think that is going to make things more inclusive, but there are often barriers. For instance, 28% of blind and partially sighted people don’t use the internet, or they don’t have access to it.

If there are hurdles in the street for people to get around, if packaging isn’t accessible, you’re putting barriers in people’s way in a physical sense, but potentially also a digital sense. A big message of the conference has been about being inclusion-first in design. That does apply to absolutely everything, from street design to technology.

We work closely with Guide Dogs. We have just produced our own report around inaccessible streets. It’s a lot worse than we thought. With the advent of things like e-scooters, some people are feeling like they’re trapped at home, or that their communities are becoming inaccessible. I was chatting to Guide Dogs yesterday about how we’re reinforcing a message, as opposed to having different messages or being rivals in the space. I think that joined-up approach is better.

We’re also engaging around the NHS 10-Year Health Plan. We have multiple priorities that we wanted to talk about at the conference, but we have homed in a bit around accessibility, because it applies to so many different areas of life.

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How do the three shifts that the government is pushing forward fit in with your accessibility aims?

There is a commitment to the digital side of the NHS, and the NHS app. We are working with them and pushing to see how it can be inclusive from the outset. Inclusion can’t be an add on to an NHS app, because it affects everybody’s lives. We’re already seeing so many people disenfranchised because of the lack of accessible information in the NHS.

That is one way that we really want to support the development of the app. Obviously, the advent of an app and digital approaches sound great and more inclusive, but how do we make sure that the app is designed in such a way that it is accessible from the outset?

Google is setting that example. They have a magnification app – they worked with us on that, and they are very much about accessibility data in that design space. That is what we’re trying to influence with the NHS.

Inclusion can’t be an add on to an NHS app, because it affects everybody’s lives. We’re already seeing so many people disenfranchised because of the lack of accessible information

What is RNIB’s number one ask for policymakers?

In this space, inclusion shouldn’t be an afterthought. We do need to look at what we can learn from the European legislation, tightening up those grey areas in the Equality Act, and working in a multi sector way to just make life more inclusive.