IN 2010 CONCHA Y TORO'S SOCIAL COMMITMENT EMBODIED 125 NEW HOUSES

2010 was a year of sharp contrasts that marked both Chile and Viña Concha y Toro. The great social impact caused by the earthquake of February 27 shook our company and its people hard, but important progress was made with a great effort and commitment.

As a result of this natural disaster in the center-south region of Chile, Viña Concha y Toro planned a strategy, in line with the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR), for the reconstruction of homes for both its own workers affected and for the community.

A fund-raising campaign was organized for this plan, in which distributors, people close to the winery, employees and the company contributed, the board deciding that the company would double the amounts received. This project was carried out jointly with Fundación Casa Básica which has developed an emergency housing solution and provided technical assistance and its volunteers in supporting the construction work.

16 houses were built in a first stage, for winery workers who lost all their homes. While these are emergency houses, they provided a high-quality solution, of a larger size, insulation, panel treatment, room separation, PVC-framed windows and basic bathroom and kitchen equipment, permitting a better quality of life for their occupants.

At the same time, repair grants were given to those employees who suffered partial damage to their homes and needed repairs of various magnitudes.

In a second stage, and seeing that the housing needs in its social surroundings were considerable, the company together with the local authorities chose the town of Pumanque, located in the province of Colchagua in Chile’s Sixth Region, the heart of the wine-making business, to extend it solidarity campaign to the community.

In this stage, Viña Concha y Toro sought to meet the basic housing needs of the community, very deteriorated by the earthquake, with a view to contributing to both the quality of life of the people and the economic and social equity of the zone. The company was completely involved in the building of these houses as it was its own employees who mainly gave their time to the on-site construction work, which became an enriching experience for the winery’s different work teams.

This building project was extended during the second half of the year to achieve a total of 125 houses in different locations in 2010.

This was how in mid winter it went to the assistance of Punta Lavapié, located in the Gulf of Arauco, where it managed to move a group of families who lived in extreme conditions, to a safer location. 33 houses were built which together form a real village and the relocation and construction of new homes enabled the beneficiary families to overcome the risky situation they were in. It also managed to obtain financing for its urbanization from the central government, so that the sector could be connected to electricity, water and sewage services.

Houses were also built in Rancagua, San Carlos and Tirúa, thus completing the 125.

Important was the fact that the company’s employees took part in the building of the homes, enabling them to work as a team and share with the families affected, which became a very enriching experience.

“An enormous and valuable opportunity was opened up in facing this adversity, of enthusiastically starting a reconstruction and internal volunteers project” says the winery. “A strategy was therefore planned in line with CSR principles, directed to the reconstruction of homes. We were therefore able to establish new bases for driving a CSR policy over time with greater energy, with a solid strategy directed to within our company and including the community”.