Protecting generations of precious objects whilst protecting the planet

Artefacts dating back as far as 700,000BC will soon be stored in more sustainable facility thanks to a project accelerated by a Scottish Government grant.

A facility that stores more than a million historic artefacts from the Glasgow Museums Collections is set for green upgrades. 

Located in the south side of Scotland’s biggest city, the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre stores non-display collections on behalf of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Riverside Museum, The Burrell Collection, Gallery of Modern Art, People’s Palace, St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Provand’s Lordship, Kelvin Hall, Scotland Street School Museum and The Open Museum. 

In fact, it is estimated that only 2% of the Glasgow collections are on display at any one time. The remaining artefacts are either stored in the resource centre or loaned to partner museums across the globe.

The collection is made up of an extensive list of items including fossils, armour, religious relics, Victorian-era fashion, international art, objects from Ancient Egypt and the Romans, historic pieces important to the story and development of Scotland as we know it today and much more.

Chris Cain, programme coordinator at Salix, said: “The collection of artefacts stored in the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre is incredibly diverse and unique with relics spanning thousands of years of human and animal history from across the globe.

“It’s amazing to think that some of our most ancient and treasured objects are now part of the modern-day net zero story.”

Glasgow Life, who run the museums and resource centre on behalf of Glasgow City Council, is a charity that aims to provide culture, sport and learning opportunities to the city, with a people-lead focus on making Glasgow the first choice for people to live, work, learn and play.

As a part of their environmental and sustainability policy, the charity has committed to reach net zero by 2030. Key to this aim, they say, is showing leadership through reducing their own footprint and reducing the emissions associated with the buildings that make up their estate.

To support these ambitions, the charity was awarded £1,521,543 through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund for decarbonisation and energy efficiency upgrades to the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre. Funding for this scheme is delivered by our teams at Salix on behalf of the Scottish Government. 

The funding will enable the centre to remove six gas boilers in favour of air source heat pumps and accompanying energy efficiency measures. Energy efficiency measures included in the works encompass double glazing, solar pv, roof insulation, external wall insulation, variable speed drivers and a remotely-managed building management system.

Isabel Brown, head of infrastructure support at Glasgow Life, said: “The improvements at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre will make a huge difference; we estimate they will enable annual savings of around 156 tonnes of CO2.

“This important project reflects Glasgow Life’s environmental sustainability strategy and ongoing commitment to achieve net zero goals.”

A reduction of 156 tonnes of carbon a year is equivalent to 78,000 miles of air travel – enough to fly from London to New York 23 times*.

Works funded through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund build upon previous projects that have received funding through the Scotland Recycling Fund. Through this scheme, the charity has committed 69 projects worth a total loan value of £4,557,384. When combined, these projects are expected to reduce their carbon emissions by a further 2,040 tonnes annually which is equivalent to 1,020,000 miles of air travel - enough to fly from London to New York 295 times*.

Chris added: “Glasgow Life have a long and strong history of undertaking decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects and are incredibly passionate about playing their part to address the climate emergency.

“They are a great example of how organisations can utilise Salix funding across an estate to take a holistic approach to achieving net zero.

“I look forward to continuing to support them as they undertake further interesting, exciting and innovative projects on their decarbonisation journey.”

About the Glasgow museum’s collection

Owned by the City of Glasgow, the Glasgow museums collection is understood to be one of the finest museum collections in the world, covering a broad spectrum of art, human history, natural history and transport and technology. The collection began in the 1850s and now includes over a million objects.

• The art collection includes paintings from renowned artists such as Picasso, Monet, Botticelli, Raeburn and Howson. 
• Ancient Egyptian artefacts include pottery, jewellery, mummy cases and more dating back to circa 3850-2960 BC. 
• Fossils are on display from reptiles, fish, asteroids and dinosaurs. 

You can browse a list of artefacts within their collection through the Glasgow museums collections navigator website. 

About Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund

Launched in July 2023, Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund made grant funding available from Scottish Government for projects to decarbonise heating systems by replacing them with zero direct emissions systems. 

It also includes funding for retrofit energy efficiency measures to support the overall decarbonisation of heat in buildings. 

The scheme will deliver funding to successful applicants for projects due to complete by the end of financial year 2024/25.

About The Scotland Recycling Fund

The Scotland Recycling Fund is a loan-based, ring-fenced fund, created with capital provided on behalf of the Scottish Government through Salix, and matched by the public sector organisation. It encourages organisations to re-invest financial savings that result from projects into further decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects, thus operating in a cyclic ‘recycled’ manner.

* Carbon calculations have been generated through a tool created by our carbon and technical experts here at Salix. The intention is to provide carbon savings estimates to aid with a common understanding of emission data and statistics. These estimates are approximate it is not recommended to use this tool for formal carbon emissions analysis. The tool uses UK government conversion factors alongside emissions estimates sourced from various studies, but it is possible a margin of error may exist. For more information about the formulas and justifications used in this tool, please contact us at [email protected].