No. Two years ago, Churchill May Ball was not signed up to the award. This year, we are participating in the scheme.

Yes! I (David) am taking responsibility for sustainability along with health and safety and accessibility. We haven't allocated any of the budget specifically for sustainability, but the entire committee is committed to this cause and we have made administrative decisions based on this.

This is an audited accreditation for May Balls run by a student body in Cambridge. The scheme involves attending meetings and meeting a set of audited standards, with participating balls receiving an award after the event. There's not much info online on this, but if you're interested, contact us, or the facilitators here: [email protected].

Yes! We've made every effort to source local suppliers. We can't yet reveal our exact suppliers as these are subject to change, but all but two are from the Cambridge area. That said, transport is only a very small amount of the emissions caused from food (https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local).

This is a health and safety precaution. Some of the entertainment will involve dancing or raving and we cannot risk a dropped glass here being responsible for an injury. We don't expect that disposable items will be a significant proportion of our carbon footprint (see the last section for more information), but reducing waste is useful for other reasons. Please try not to excessively use disposable items at the ball.

We don't expect to have any leftover hot food or meals, although we will confirm this before the event. Any leftover wrapped treats we have will be reused by college or donated to a foodbank.

Yes, possibly. If we do, we'll assess the environmental impact and try and reduce it where possible. Given, that any pyrotechnics will be viewed by all the people attending the ball, we don't anticipate that this will be a significant contributor to our overall environmental footprint. Additionally, we will alert the surrounding residents.

We don't expect so. There will be lots of non-musical entertainment, but many of these are naturally energy efficient. Regardless, energy will be a small proportion of our overall footprint (see the next section).

We're in the process of doing this. We hope that this will incentivise our own suppliers to think more about their logistical processes as well as improving our own information on the footprint this event will have. If it is clear that a supplier is not committed to reducing their footprint or are very geographically remote, we may consider using a different supplier.

Churchill doesn't have any water fountains and the bars won't be sufficiently near a tap to provide tap water. This was seen as the best trade-off to ensure all guests remain hydrated and that there are no queues. I'm in the process of looking into whether some existing taps can be used as refillable water stations.

Yes, this year we are supporting Jimmy's Cambridge - a homelessness charity providing support and housing for those who are rough sleeping. More information is available when buying a ticket.

We are arranging temporary toilets for the events because the previous committee received feedback at the last ball that there were queues for the toilets. After considering the categorised emissions of such a purchase, we decided that the majority of the footprint associated would come from the transport of the toilets to the event. Therefore, we have prioritised this and the toilets will be chemical.

Waste management is being handled by our porter team and waste bins will be available at least for recyclable waste and general waste. I am in discussions as to whether they will be available for food waste. This waste will be placed in compactors we keep on site.

See the next section for a full insight into what the most emissive parts of the ball will be. Based on this, the best things you can do are the following, in order of importance:

• Do not fly specifically for this ball. If you are, considering offsetting the emissions you are likely to produce.
• Do not travel a long distance specifically for this ball. If you are, consider ride-sharing or taking public transport.
• Do not buy a new costume specifically for this ball. Consider hiring a costume, buying a costume you know you will reuse, or making a costume yourself out of recycled materials.
• Do not eat meat at the ball.
• Do not drink alcohol at the ball.
• Hold onto your disposable cup at the ball.