European standards on durability and performance of wood and wood-based products – Trends and challenges

Abstract

Standardization work in the field of wood durability and preservation is managed, at the European level, by the technical committee TC 38 ‘Durability of wood and wood-based products’ of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). Producing sustainable wood-based materials is challenging. A crucial aspect of their provision is reliable standards that take consideration of both the expectations of end-users and the broad set of parameters that may influence the service life of wooden components such as exposure to moisture, climatic variations and design. In order to reach these objectives, most CEN/TC 38 standards are currently being revised based on the recent scientific, technological and legal developments in the field of wood protection. There is an increasing need for performance classification of wood products in construction and to radically consider how wood durability test methods and standards can inform on service life and how they might be translated into a performance classification system. This paper describes the changes during the past 5–10 years in Europe and how the trajectory of standards development is now on a different pathway. Classification and service life demands are described as well as current approaches to consider key issues such as material resistance, moisture risk and adaptation of existing standards.