Hugo Knox, Founder of ORNA, a sustainable materials start-up, recently took part in BIG South London’s and LSBU’s Circular Economy programme. 

Having seen first-hand the amount of waste generated by Christmas trees, Hugo had the idea to turn the Christmas Trees from his other business Tree Brothers into something with use and value.

We caught up with Hugo to find out how this venture is progressing and his experience of the Low Carbon Programme.

After four years as Director of Tree Brothers, I realised how wasteful Christmas trees can be. In January, the streets of London are flooded with dead trees. When investigating this further I found there was a significant financial and carbon cost attached to Christmas tree waste. For example, if a six-foot Christmas tree ends up in landfill, it emits approximately 16 kilograms of carbon emissions. With roughly 8 million Christmas trees ending up in landfill every year within the UK, that’s an enormous amount emitted at a high cost in landfill taxes and to the planet.

These findings kickstarted the inception of my business ORNA, which stands for Optimised Reused Natural Assets. In January 2024, conducting a four-week pilot at Copeland Park in Peckham, ORNA took Tree Brothers Christmas tree waste and upcycled it into natural low-carbon products. 

Following the success of the pilot, I signed up for Trampoline CIC founded by Claudine Bongo which is linked with the Southwark Pioneers Fund. This was a huge help in connecting me with new business partners and a whole entrepreneurial community. This helpful step pointed me in the right direction and led me to the BIG Circular Economy Programme.

With the help of LSBU and their design consultant, Daniele Di Paolo, during the programme, I was able to develop and understand my current process in greater detail. I also gained a further understanding of the capabilities of the raw material and its possible scope for use in the future.

Being part of the Circular Economy programme has been an eye-opening and enjoyable experience. It has been a privilege to be connected with knowledgeable and open-minded people within academia. As my business and its development are within a niche field, it is important to be surrounded by people who can advise me from a place of expertise. The programme has helped me do this by learning from different people tackling similar problems.

I would recommend the programme to other businesses. It’s a great way to partner with an academic institution, which supports you and helps shape your product better or, as in my case, streamline the process to make it more efficient. 

With the help of the BIG programme, ORNA can continue to make the most out of waste wood materials, reusing today for a greener tomorrow.

Download the ORNA animation by clicking the image below!

About the Circular Economy Programme

Led by Prof Deborah Andrews of LSBU,  the Circular Economy Programme is a fully funded programme of support to help South London-based startups, established businesses, social enterprises and charities in accelerating their circular economy service or product development. Through a series of easy-to-access online webinars, businesses can expand their network, generate momentum for their business and demonstrate their products and services.

Find out more about the Circular Economy Programme

Hugo Knox Bio

Hugo founded Tree Brothers over six years ago alongside his team of school friends, they deliver, remove and recycle premium British-grown Christmas trees across South London. This started out as a side hustle which helped support his art career, you can see his work on his Instagram. 

Hugo now plans to focus most of his time on developing his main business ORNA, Optimised Reused Natural Assets, to transform their Christmas tree waste into durable, long-lasting, natural low-carbon products.