Hong Kong, China, June 12, 2007--Home improvement chain B&Q has stopped selling a popular but endangered hardwood in China, a move Greenpeace hailed as a crucial step towards protecting rainforests from the country's voracious appetite for timber. Steve Gilman, B&Q Asia's chief executive officer, told Reuters the company was no longer offering merbau -- a resilient, dark, red wood grown in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia -- for flooring, and he urged others to follow suit. "We have decided to cease selling merbau ... I am calling all the home improvement industry to join and stop selling this particular timber," he said, referring to China. "This is one of the most endangered of all hardwood species. There's very little from certified sources." B&Q was gradually dropping merbau in other parts of Asia, including Taiwan, where it is still selling a small quantity. With 60 stores across China, B&Q, a unit of Britain's Kingfisher, is one of the biggest home-improvement retailers in the country, which has seen double-digit growth in demand for such materials due to a rapid economic development and urbanisation. Its decision on merbau, one of the most valuable timbers in Southeast Asia, is B&Q's first step towards a comprehensive programme in China to help sustain global forests. It is working with Greenpeace to eliminate all illegal and controversial sources by 2010 and switch to proven, well-managed forests for flooring, furniture and plywood in China. "We are on the journey at the moment for doing that," said Gilman, based in Hong Kong where it opened its first store in this month. The move came as conservationists warn China's timber trade is causing irreplaceable deforestation across the world, adding to pressure to global warming. Greenpeace welcomed the B&Q's initiative to shift to timber certified to Forest Stewardship Council and Tropical Forest Trust, independent bodies promoting sustainable forestry. "A large corporation like B&Q can play a real leadership role," said Tamara Stark, Greenpeace China's forest coordinator. "China being a very large market, a lot can be done. Companies operating in China can help protect the forests."
