Bio-based Wood preservatives, derived from renewable biomass, are emerging as promising alternatives to traditional synthetic wood preservatives. Research groups all around the world are studying the development of bio-based – environmentally friendly – wood preservatives and their fixation to wood finding natural compounds with very promising wood preserving potential. However, there is a very significant gap in the assessment of the ecotoxicity of these compounds if used as wood preservatives, due to the general perception of natural compounds not being toxic. While standards for testing wood durability are usually followed by researchers to assess the effectiveness of the potential preservatives, the ecotoxicity standards are not usually applied in wood preservation. Thus, very limited studies have performed ecotoxicity tests of potential bio-based wood preservatives or have studied the effects of their leachates during the lifetime of treated wood towards the environment, causing a significant uncertainty on the effect towards the aquatic and soil organisms of bio-based wood preservatives. This mini-review highlights the need of testing the ecotoxicity of bio-based wood preservatives and their leachates, as it is essential to develop bio-based wood preservatives which, in addition to being effective and natural, have also a low impact towards the environment. A comprehensive evaluation of all factors – from efficacy to environmental safety – must guide the research and development of truly sustainable bio-based wood preservatives, including the adaptation of standards to address the unique challenges of bio-based solutions.

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