Eco protesters have forced contractor HBG to halt work on an art gallery refurbishment in a row over the sourcing of materials

Dozens of Greenpeace activists stormed the site of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow on Monday and seized Merbau timber used for flooring.

The protesters claim the timber was taken from unsustainable South East Asian rainforests. Work on the floor refurbishment has now ceased, pending a Glasgow council investigation into the allegations.

An HBG spokesperson said the contractor had taken reasonable measures to ensure the timber was taken from an environmentally responsible source. He said Danish supplier Junckers had provided a “sustainable forest management certificate” from the Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB).

The spokesperson said: “As far as we’re aware, we met requirements for environmental responsibility. It’s a question of how far back we should be expected to check sources. Whatever documentation we’ve got doesn’t comply with what Greenpeace thinks we should have, but we are trying to source the timber further.”

Greenpeace says the MTIB document does not confirm the timber’s origin or give any guarantee about standards of forest management, as it is produced by the industry rather than an independent regulator.

A Greenpeace spokesperson said: “HBG was given a statement saying the wood originated from Malaysia, but didn’t check it back beyond that. If it had done so, it would have found the information didn’t add up”.

Junckers has told Greenpeace that full documentation on the origin of the timber did not exist. A Greenpeace spokesperson said this showed the wood did not come from an environmentally responsible source.

Greenpeace has called for contractors and clients to use timber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.