Our Commitment
In fulfilling our mission, Costco strives at all times to provide its goods and services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of people with disabilities and facing barriers due to disability. Costco is fully committed to providing people with disabilities with the same opportunities to access its goods and services in a barrier-free manner. Costco wants to ensure that people with disabilities benefit from the same services, in the same place and in a similar way as other members, while complying with existing regulations and legislation and its existing timelines. Costco will establish and implement measures, policies and practices respecting barrier-free access to our goods and services.
Costco is committed to acting in a manner consistent with applicable human rights laws.
Costco is fully committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and accessible environment where all employees and members can feel valued, respected and, most of all, supported. We strongly believe in integration and equal opportunities. Costco works hard to meet the needs of all people with disabilities in a timely manner, and will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility, and prevent new barriers from being created. We will ensure that access to goods or services is available by alternate means on a temporary or permanent basis where barriers cannot be removed. Any fee or charge relating to accommodating a person who is disabled by a barrier will be imposed only if Costco cannot reasonably accommodate the person otherwise, and only if permitted by law. Costco is committed to meeting accessibility requirements under Canadian accessibility laws. Our organization will continue to fulfill its requirements under applicable accessibility laws in order to have all Costco locations accessible in accordance with legislative deadlines.
Accessibility Initiatives and Strategies
The following is a summary of the accessibility initiatives and strategies that we have implemented to prevent and/or remove barriers and to meet applicable accessibility laws requirements. As part of our commitment to making Canada more accessible, Costco implements, monitors and reviews its accessibility plan to comply with accessibility laws.
Information and communication:
At Costco, service is provided in a way that allows persons with disabilities and those facing barriers due to disability to maintain self-respect and the respect of other people. Costco communicates with an employee or member with a disability in a manner that takes into account their disability.
Achievements:
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An Accessibility Member Service Commitment was created and posted on our Costco.ca website. The Member Service Commitment outlines Costco’s comprehensive feedback process, which includes accessible ways for members to submit feedback (including: by completing a feedback form located at one of our location exits; in person by speaking to a manager at one of our warehouse locations; by mail by sending a letter to the attention of the applicable warehouse manager; by phone through the Costco Contact Centre at 1-800-463-3783, or online through our website).
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A procedure is in place to guarantee that all feedback gathered from members is analyzed. All feedback is sorted by the end of the business day and forwarded to the appropriate department for review and members can expect to hear back within 2 business days, unless otherwise indicated. Feedback pertaining to services and goods provided for persons with a disability will be shared with the appropriate operations team for review. Details of our Feedback process can be found on our Accessibility Commitment Policy, found on Costco.ca
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Accessible / barrier-free formats and communication supports are available upon request. Requests for an alternative format can be made through the same methods as our Feedback process. When an alternative format is requested, we will work with the person with a disability to understand the specific need and make all reasonable efforts to provide the agreed-upon format.
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Costco is committed to working directly with its internal and external web developers to ensure that all new websites and website content within its control conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA. The content on this site avoids small print size, low colour contrast between text and background, and the use of language that isn’t clear or easy to understand, which in some cases can cause problems for people with disabilities. In January 2015, Costco.ca’s footer was redesigned. The background colour was significantly lightened and the text was enlarged to increase visibility and legibility. User experience (UX) and ease of use and navigation are among Costco’s top priorities.
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Costco provides elevated housekeeping practices in order to ensure that clutter is cleared from its facilities to make sure that people with disabilities, both members and employees, can circulate safely and with ease.
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Employees are trained on emergency evacuation procedures yearly as part of health and safety training. Fire drills are done on a semi-annual basis. Employees are instructed to help people with a disability to evacuate safely.
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Each department within the location is equipped with an emergency evacuation checklist.
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Emergency procedures, plans and public safety information made available to the public can also be made available in an accessible format and/or with appropriate communication support, upon request.
Actions planned:
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We will have internal developers regularly monitor and test our websites for compliance and improvements, identify usability issues and discover new solutions to further improve accessibility to our site.
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Any new emergency procedures, plans and public safety information made available to the public can also be made available in an accessible format and/or with appropriate communication support, upon request.
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All reportable emergency evacuations will continue to be reviewed by the appropriate departments for potential improvements to procedures.
Recruitment and employment
Even prior to being hired, Costco recruiters offer accommodation to help applicants with a disability to be successful during the interview process. Once hired, employees receive one-on-one training, if necessary, in a manner that takes into account the new hire’s disability. Employees with disabilities who have shared their disability with a Costco management representative will be provided with individualized workplace emergency response information as necessary and an individual accommodation plan, following the existing procedure. Individualized workplace emergency response information will be updated as required and within 30 days of the employee moving to a different location, a change in the accommodation needs, or when Costco reviews its general emergency response policies.
Changes to the new hire orientation facilitation and its content are also made to reflect the employee’s requirements.
Achievements:
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Where accessible legislations apply, Costco hiring managers are required to take part in comprehensive interview training that takes into account accessibility needs, accommodation and applicable human rights laws.
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During our phone screening process, we inform applicants that accommodation is available.
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In the event that an applicant with a disability is successfully hired, Costco will develop an individual accommodation plan that considers their disability, if required, and apply the written procedure.
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Inform employees and new hires in each province (as soon as practicable) of Costco’s policies for preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting accessibility requirements under accessibility acts and laws.
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We have developed a Return to Work process for employees who require accommodation when returning from leave. The process outlines the steps we take to ensure that the employee’s return to work is seamless, while using the employee’s individual accommodation plan as part of that process.
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We have in place a process that takes into consideration an employee’s disability and their individual accommodation plan prior to managing performance, career development or redeployment.
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Once hired, we inform successful candidates at the job offer stage of our accommodation policies.
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Where accessible legislations apply, employees will continue to be trained on applicable accessibility laws, Costco’s policies and plans thereunder, accommodation, and the applicable human rights laws.
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Training records specifying when training was done and how many employees took the training are kept and maintained on our Learning Management System (LMS). The Accessibility training record can be made available in an accessible format and/or with appropriate communication support, upon request.
Actions planned:
- Our existing accommodation policies will be reviewed on a regular basis and procedures may be updated to facilitate the process, as needed.
Emergency and preventative maintenance procedures
Costco provides accessible elements for persons with disabilities in their establishments, such as the power-operated doors, ramps, electric scooters, accessible cash registers, wide emergency exits, and accessible washrooms. These elements are maintained as per our existing policy.
Achievements:
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Regular preventative maintenance is performed.
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Parking lot attendants monitor the parking lot, including accessible parking spaces
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Greeters monitor the manual and electric wheelchairs and the electric sliding doors at the entrance
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Maintenance assistants monitor the accessible washrooms
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At the end of every hour, a report is filed listing the status of all elements verified, including accessible elements (in a predetermined checklist).
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Should maintenance be planned in advance for an accessible element, the Notice of Temporary Disruption procedure will be followed as outlined in the Member Service Commitment.
Actions planned:
- Should new accessible elements be added, we will update our Emergency and Preventative Maintenance Procedures.
Design of public spaces standards
Accessibility laws impact our new constructed and redeveloped locations. This section covers elements such as: slope ratios, exterior paths of travel, accessible parking and obtaining services.
Achievements:
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Costco Canada regularly communicates with the construction department for continuous updates and reviews on new constructions and redevelopments in each province.
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Our cash registers are wheelchair accessible, in new constructions and redevelopments in Canada.
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Service counters and point of sales terminals have been adapted for wheelchair accessibility, in new constructions and redevelopments in each province.
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Our queuing lines are not fixed, and can be adjusted for accessibility.
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Our waiting areas are not fixed, and can be adjusted for accessibility.
Actions planned:
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To ensure all redevelopments meet the design of public spaces, location managers will be required to inform the appropriate operations team of all upcoming redevelopments, to facilitate internal audits.
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Costco will take into account barriers to accessibility when considering any redevelopments.
Customer Service
Costco is committed to excellence in serving all members, including people experiencing barriers due to a disability, and to carrying out our functions and responsibilities in accordance with legislated requirements and in respect of communications, the use of assistive devices, support person, or support animals, preventative maintenance and emergency information, and any temporary disruptions to Costco’s services. Member Service is our most critical commodity. Costco strives to meet and surpass member expectations while ensuring members with disabilities and those facing barriers due to disability have the same opportunity to benefit from our goods and services.
Achievements:
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Costco will continue to communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their barrier or barriers they face due to a disability and, where accessible legislations apply, to train our employees on how to interact and communicate with people facing barriers due to a disability.
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Costco will continue to ensure that our employees are familiar, and trained where accessible legislations apply, with various assistive devices that may be used by members experiencing barriers due to a disability while accessing our goods or services. We will also ensure that our employees know how to use the following assistive devices available on our premises for members: washrooms, scooters and wheel chairs.
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Costco permits service animals on the parts of our premises that are open to the public and other third parties (unless excluded by law). In the event that a service animal is otherwise excluded by law from the premises, Costco will provide the applicable member with an alternative method of obtaining, using or benefitting from its goods, services or facilities. Where accessible legislations apply, we will also ensure that all employees are properly trained in how to interact with people with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal.
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Costco also remains committed to welcoming people with disabilities who are accompanied by a support person. Persons with a disability who are accompanied by a support person will be allowed to enter Costco’s premises with their support person. At no time will persons with a barrier due to disability who are accompanied by a support person be prevented from having access to their support person while on our premises. Costco does not charge fees to support persons.
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A Member Service Commitment has been developed encapsulating the principles of this policy.
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A poster indicating how to communicate with individuals with different types of disabilities is available for all employees to view in their breakroom
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Our feedback process has been documented
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All member and employee feedback pertaining to accessibility is reviewed by the appropriate operations team for potential improvements
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Costco is committed to removing and preventing barriers for persons with disabilities. Preventative maintenance includes, but is not limited to monitoring parking lots including accessible spaces, sliding doors, manual and electric wheelchairs, and accessible washrooms and ensuring Notice of Temporary Disruption will be posted.
Actions planned:
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The responsibility of posting and removing the Notice of Temporary Disruption Form will be transferred to assistant warehouse managers, to ensure effective application of the Notice of Temporary Disruption process.
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Costco will continue to meet the actions above.
Training
Here at Costco, service is provided in a way that allows persons with disabilities to benefit from the same services, in the same place, and in the same or similar way as other members, unless an alternative measure is necessary to enable those persons to access goods or services. Where accessible legislations apply, we ensure that our employees are trained to respect and allow persons with disabilities to do things on their own without unnecessary help or interference from others. Training is provided to employees where accessible legislations apply as soon as practicable following the employee’s hiring or first day in a new role. Where accessible legislations apply, employees will also be trained on a yearly basis and when changes are made to these policies, practices and procedures.
Achievements:
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Sensitivity awareness is discussed with all employees on a yearly basis through our Anti-Harassment & Discrimination training sessions. This training covers topics on creating a respectful workplace through our Standard of Conduct and discusses inclusion and acceptance in accordance with applicable human rights laws
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Training on the applicable accessibility law standards has been provided to the required employees and will be given to all new employees where accessible legislations apply. The training includes, but is not limited to:
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Applicable legislated standards as amended from time to time, including Information and communication standards, Employment and recruitment standards and Design of public spaces standards
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What to do if a person facing a barrier due to a disability is having difficulty accessing Costco’s goods and services
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How to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disability
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How to interact with persons with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person
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How to use equipment or devices available on Costco’s premises or otherwise provided by Costco that may help with the barrier-free provision of goods or services to a person with a disability
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What to do if a person with a particular type of disability is having problems accessing Costco’s goods or services
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Training records specifying when training was done and how many employees took the training are kept and maintained on our Learning Management System (LMS). The Accessibility training record can be made available in an accessible format and/or with appropriate communication support, upon request.
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All documents can be made available in an accessible format and/or with appropriate communication support, in a timely manner, upon request.
Actions planned:
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Whenever an amendment is made or a deadline is approaching, the policies, forms and training will be reviewed and updated, and supplementary training provided, as needed.
Compliance
In order to remain compliant with the applicable accessibility laws, Costco will continue to provide goods and services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of people with disabilities. We will ensure that people with disabilities can benefit from the same goods and services, while complying with existing regulations, the Accessibility Standard Regulation and its existing timeline. We will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting accessibility requirements under each province’s accessibility laws.
This accessibility plan outlines the steps Costco has taken and our action plan to meet those requirements and improve opportunities for people with disabilities. This plan also demonstrates how Costco will play its role in making Canada an accessible country for all.
Achievements:
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Costco completed its last Accessibility compliance report for Ontario in 2021
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This Multi-Year Accessibility Plan was last updated in December 2022
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An internal Accessibility committee has been formed and ensures compliance with all standards of the accessibility laws.
Actions planned:
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Monitor and review accessibility procedures and update as required
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Conduct a regular review of the Multi-Year Accessibility Plan to ensure compliance
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