UK merchanting giant Travis Perkins plc has responded to Greenpeace protests at its branches by announcing it will send independent forestry auditors to Indonesian mill sources.

Twenty-four of the company’s branches were targeted in the June 14 protests, which saw Greenpeace activists cordon off areas where Indonesian plywood and doors were on sale, claiming the firm was fuelling the destruction of Indonesian rainforests.

Travis Perkins said auditors would visit Indonesia during July to prepare an action plan to help mills take measures “to rectify any weaknesses that are found”. It said the mills were “therefore subject to our direct ethical and commercial pressure to ensure that they implement those action plans”.

Group planning director Ian Goldsmith said: “Travis Perkins has been very concerned about the issues of timber sustainability for some time. We already have a wide range of FSC products in our branches and have demonstrated our willingness to switch products to FSC where they are available.

“There are significant volumes that are coming from Indonesia which are hardwood plywood but there are also other sources. Overall it is a small percentage of our total sales in timber products.”

&#8220Mills are subject to our direct ethical and commercial pressure to ensure that they implement our environmental action plans”

Travis Perkins spokesperson

Meanwhile, Jewson has made a commitment to stopping the import of Indonesian plywood. During this year it hoped to import at least 80% of plywood from alternative sources which can demonstrate sustainability.

Construction company Bovis Land Lease has mailed its timber suppliers, saying it was committed to procuring timber from sustainable sources, preferably recognised by third-party independent certification schemes.

  • In a protest at the port of Valencia, Greenpeace activists chained themselves to a ship allegedly carrying illegally-felled timber from Cameroon.