A new report from the environmental group Greenpeace says the "vast majority"  of the construction sector continues to use illegal and unsustainable timber.

The report, entitled "Setting a new standard: alternatives to unsustainable plywood in the UK construction industry" then offers practical guide for companies wanting to avoiding the use of illegal plywood on construction sites.

In recent years, Greenpeace investigations have uncovered the use of plywood, often manufactured in China, illegally logged in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Brazil, on sites across the UK. These include at two refurbishments at the government's Cabinet Offices in Whitehall, at the construction site of the Home Office and at the British Museum.

Reacting to the report, Greenpeace Forest campaigner Mariana Paoli said: "Tropical forests are being destroyed to make way for  throw-away products like plywood. It's time for architects, specifiers and construction companies to clean up their act and we hope this report will provide the motivation for them to take action on this issue."

The UK is Europe's largest user of plywood, and is the third largest importer of illegal timber in the world. Despite this, the report shows that there is no technical reason why unsustainable tropical hardwood plywood cannot be replaced with alternatives such as FSC Oriented Strand Board (OSB), which is  locally sourced, competitively priced, and are already readily available on the UK market.

Endorsing the report, Peter Ainsworth, Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment said, "No organisation has done more than Greenpeace to draw attention to the perilous state of the world's ancient forests. There is now a need for urgent action to save what remains, for the sake of the forests themselves and their unique wildlife, and for the benefits they bring to our climate. While governments dither and bicker, this excellent report shows in a clear and compelling way, that there is action that responsible businesses and all of us can take to help."

Greenpeace is pushing the UK government and the European Union to adopt legislation which would make it illegal for companies to buy timber products not coming from legal and well managed forests.

Paul Toyne, head of Sustainability at industry leaders Bovis Lend Lease UK said, "This report promotes FSC which is a great tool for the construction industry   to remove illegal plywood from the supply chain and replace it with sustainable plywood.  As a company actually doing this we endorse Greenpeace's recommendations and would encourage all construction companies to follow suit."