Beef livestock intensification index: a multivariate and spatial analysisBeef cattle, while playing a relevant socioeconomic role in Brazil and having gained international prominence due to the sector's favorable export performance in recent decades, has been increasingly challenged by increasing concerns about its environmental impacts. The main objective of this study is to analyze whether, in the evolution of beef cattle, between 2006 and 2017, there was an intensification of sustainable production and whether this has an effect on greenhouse gas emissions in a cutout for Brazilian microregions. To this end, a multivariate and spatial analysis was conducted, using data from the 2006 and 2017 Agricultural Censuses. The first part of the study is based on an exploratory analysis of Agricultural Census (IBGE) data related to cattle herd and land use, with the purpose of describing the evolution and spatial distribution among these observations. The second part of the analysis is based on the construction of an intensification index, through factor analysis by principal components, with the objective of visualizing spatial distributions and discovering patterns of spatial association (clusters) between the variables of interest. As a corollary, it was observed that beef cattle are increasingly intensive in sustainable technologies, here understood as sustainable a set of practices identified from data from the Agricultural Census, and these indicators for technologies show an inverse relationship with emissions of GHG from beef cattle. The challenge is that knowledge and technology can reach all producers in an accessible way so that they can be implemented on a larger scale within the sector, with a focus on meat productivity, quality and food safety, while respecting the environment.