Declaration on accessibility

The accessibility statement contains information on the accessibility of the website or web application in accordance with Section 12a of the Disability Discrimination Act. It also provides you with contact options for reporting existing barriers.

The Federal Environment Agency endeavors to make the openUMWELT website accessible. The legal basis is the Disability Discrimination Act (BGG), the Barrier-free Information Technology Ordinance (BITV 2.0) and the harmonized European standard EN 301 549 in its current version.

Status of compliance with the requirements

The openUMWELT website has not yet been subjected to an accessibility test in accordance with BITV. Only a self-test with WAVE, silktide (incl. screen reader) was carried out in January 2025.

After evaluating this test, openUMWELT is only partially compatible with the requirements of the BITV.

The content listed below is not or only partially accessible. The reasons for this are explained. Accessibility is being improved step by step.

Some older PDF files are not barrier-free. For the most part, these are extensive final reports of research projects for a very limited readership. We classify post-processing as a disproportionate burden in accordance with Section 12a (6) BGG.
There are not yet any videos in sign language with information about openUMWELT. As the site is still under construction, it has not yet been possible to implement this measure. The sign language videos should be added to the openUMWELT website by the end of 2025. You can find out more about the Federal Environment Agency in sign language on the following page: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/gebaerdensprache

A self-test according to BITV (BITV self-assessment) will be carried out in the course of 2025.

Preparation of this declaration on accessibility

This declaration was created on 17.01.2025.

The declaration was last reviewed on 17.01.2025.

Reporting barriers and contact

Would you like to report existing barriers or request information on the implementation of accessibility?

You can use our online form "Report a barrier" to contact us if you have any problems or questions regarding the accessibility of our website.

Contact details:

Federal Environment Agency
Environment Library - Publication Server
City Campus Berlin, House 3A
Buchholzweg 8
13627 Berlin

Phone: +49-30-8903-5362
E-mail: openumwelt@uba.de

Conciliation procedure

The Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities has an arbitration board in accordance with Section 16 BGG. The arbitration board has the task of resolving conflicts between people with disabilities and federal public bodies.

You can contact the arbitration board if you are not satisfied with the answers you receive from the above-mentioned contact option. The aim is not to find winners or losers. Rather, the aim is to find a solution to a problem together and out of court with the help of the arbitration board. The conciliation procedure is free of charge. You also do not need legal assistance. You can find all the information about the conciliation procedure on the conciliation body's website. There you can read how the conciliation procedure works and how to apply for conciliation.

You can reach the conciliation body at the following address:

Conciliation body under the Disability Equality Act
at the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities
Mauerstraße 53
10117 Berlin
Telephone: +49 (0)30 18 527 - 2805
Fax: +49 (0)30 18 527 - 2901

E-Mail: info@schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de
Internet: https://www.schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de

Contact/Report a barrier