Glasgow City Council has decided to use “sustainable” European beech instead of tropical merbau as flooring for the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, following earlier Greenpeace protests.
More than 100 activists invaded the gallery in September during floor installation work, claiming the merbau supplied by Junckers Ltd had come from endangered forests.
A city council spokesperson said: “Following consultation with various organisations, it has been agreed to change the timber used from a tropical hardwood to European beech. This is to minimise the risk of procuring unsustainable hardwood.”
Greenpeace said: “We feel it’s a positive step from Glasgow City Council to choose to move away from timber sourced from destructive logging in South-east Asia.”
The group originally decided to target the gallery after claiming documentation about the source of the wood did not exist. Junckers had denied the timber was illegal, saying it had been sourced and manufactured in accordance with all current guidelines, recommendations, legislation and certification.
The new floor is part of the gallery’s refurbishment, which is being partly funded by £13m National Lottery money.
