Radar Verde is an annual index that evaluates and publishes the performance of the socio-environmental policies adopted by meatpacking companies to combat deforestation. The survey aims to highlight companies committed to reducing deforestation associated with their production chains and to encourage the industry to adopt increasingly effective measures to mitigate forest destruction.

Until now, monitoring focused exclusively on the Legal Amazon, but this year, the scope was expanded to include the Cerrado as well, recognizing the strategic importance of this biome for the country’s water, food, and climate security. Some of the meatpacking plants evaluated in this report, located in the Cerrado biome, are also within the boundaries of the Legal Amazon. However, this assessment will consider only the policies and implementations that the company demonstrates it carries out, focused on the Cerrado biome.

Data¹ indicate that, between 1985 and 2023, the area of pastureland in the Cerrado increased by 62%, and by 2024, this process was associated with the loss of 40.5 million hectares² of native vegetation, mainly due to agricultural expansion. This trend threatens biodiversity, compromises water resources, and reduces the biome’s ability to regulate the climate. Given this scenario, it is essential that meatpacking companies implement strict controls over their suppliers, ensuring that the cattle they purchase do not come from deforested areas. Adopting environmental criteria throughout the production chain is essential to curb the conversion of new native areas into pastures, contribute to the preservation of the Cerrado, and reinforce the sector’s commitment to sustainability.

Which companies in the Cerrado have anti-deforestation policies? What is the level of implementation and transparency of these policies? Are the results of these policies measurable? Radar Verde answers these questions and provides consumers, financiers, investors, processors, meat retailers, cattle producers, and other stakeholders with information to aid their decision-making. With the data produced by Radar Verde, everyone involved in the supply chain can track the sector’s progress and learn about the best practices being adopted.

The results of the Green Radar are widely disseminated in a report on the project’s official website, in the press, on social media, and at events. Thus, the Green Radar serves as an independent source of information for various stakeholders interested in reducing deforestation associated with cattle ranching in the Cerrado. The results offer the opportunity to select the best-performing companies.

Radar Verde is a joint initiative of the Instituto O Mundo Que Queremos and the Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia (Imazon).