Though many aspects of wood modification (chemical, thermal, impregnation) treatments are known, the fundamental influence of the process on product performance, the environment, and end of life scenarios remain unknown. To contribute to the low-carbon economy and sustainable development, it is essential to integrate interactive assessment of process parameters, developed product properties, and environmental impacts. Therefore, a group of researchers joint in a COST Action FP1407 “Understanding wood modification through an integrated scientific and environmental impact approach”. The main objective of the Action FP1407 is to characterize the relationship between wood modification processing, product properties, and the associated environmental impacts in order to maximize sustainability and minimize environmental impacts. The Action aims to provide the critical mass of Europe-wide knowledge needed to achieve the future developments in the field. The networking, multi-disciplinary, exchange of knowledge, and scientific excellence, as well as the expertise of industrial members, will enable comprehensive research and development of modification processing and products design with emphasis on their environmental impacts. This paper will briefly introduce the mechanism COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) and the key research areas, work plan and secondary objectives of this Action FP1407 with the focus on environmental impact assessments. The life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental product declarations (EPDs) are introduced with examples of LCA studies of wood products. The paper concludes with discussion about the impacts of the Action FP1407 in the field of environmental performance of wood products.

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