European standards for the specification of preservative treated timber are written in terms of the results achieved in the commodity by the treatment process. This is described in terms of penetration and retention of preservative. Results from a study on the commercial application of this approach in the UK show the difficulties associated with applying the new European standards; particularly with respect to obtaining consistent analytical results for the loading of preservative in treated timber. The paper also presents a review of the process and experiences of implementing results-based standards in other countries around the world. Examples are taken from Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and the USA and are used to suggest where improvements can be made for reducing the variability in current practice.

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