As part of its commitment to the conservation of its natural forests, during 2019, Viña Concha y Toro – Family of Wineries implemented the requirements to comply with the Forest Stewardship Council^® (FSC) Forest Management Certification. As such, the company has become the first winery in the world to certify its forest assets under FSC for conservation purposes (FSC-C154029). This is a new type of certification for the owners of forests who aim to ensure their conservation.

Viña Concha y Toro maintains a deep commitment to responsible economic, environmental and social management, as outlined in the company’s Sustainability Strategy. The company’s Natural Forest Conservation Program aims to conserve, protect and maintain these forest areas together with their flora and fauna. It was initiated in 2011 through the registration with Chile’s National Forest Corporation (CONAF) of a total of 3,272 hectares of natural sclerophyll forest across nine vineyards, which increased to 4,272 hectares in 2019.

After registering its forest assets, Viña Concha y Toro developed biodiversity inventories for all estates declared, identifying the presence of numerous endemic species and others included in various conservation categories. Subsequently, a carbon capture study was carried out for both the vineyards and natural forests by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile’s Center for Global Change.

In this way, the FSC Forest Management Certification reflects the company’s conservation efforts during the last decade. In order to maintain and improve the forest structure, the FSC certification requires us to carry out a series of actions, such as implementing a forest fire prevention plan, the eradication of invasive species in the forests, the enrichment of degraded areas, and periodic biodiversity monitoring.

Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization that promotes that promotes the environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests. Over the last 25 years, the FSC has certified more than 200 million hectares of forest in more than 80 countries around the world. To learn more, visit www.fsc.org.