# Ecologization and transformation of work at the meso and micro levels of transition: findings from two territorial food projects in France

Adelaide Nascimento, Marianne Cerf, Vincent Boccara, Chloé Le Bail,

Raphaële Le Bouter, Irène Gaillard, Alice Lyonnet, Agathe Riou, Alain

Garrigou, Leïla Boudra

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## ► To cite this version:

Adelaide Nascimento, Marianne Cerf, Vincent Boccara, Chloé Le Bail, Raphaële Le Bouter, et al.. Ecologization and transformation of work at the meso and micro levels of transition: findings from two territorial food projects in France. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 2025, 10.1080/21683565.2025.2578252. [hal-05331924](https://hal.science/hal-05331924v1)

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Nascimento, A., Cerf, M., Boccara, V., Le Bail, C., Le Bouter, R., Gaillard, I., ... Boudra, L. (2025). Ecologization and transformation of work at the meso and micro levels of transition: findings from two territorial food projects in France. *Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 1-30.* https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2025.2578252

Ecologization and transformation of work at the meso and micro levels of transition: findings from two territorial food projects in France

Adelaide Nascimento<fnref n="1" />, corresponding author, [adelaide.nascimento@inrae.fr](mailto:adelaide.nascimento@inrae.fr),
[https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4847-8762](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4847-8762)

Marianne Cerf<fnref n="1" />, marianne/cerf@inrae.fr, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2765-5421

Vincent Boccara<fnref n="2" />, vincent.boccara@universite-paris-saclay.fr, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3561-9041

Chloé Le Bail<fnref n="2" />, chloe.le-bail@universite-paris-saclay.fr, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8235-212X

Raphaële Le Bouter⁴, raphaele.le-bouter@u-bordeaux.fr, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9302-3125

Irène Gaillard³, irene.gaillard@ipst-cnam.fr, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9957-333X

Alice Lyonnet<fnref n="1" />, alicelyyonnet@inrae.fr, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3548-4222

Agathe Riou<fnref n="1" />, agathe.riou@inrae.fr, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6251-0246

Alain Garrigou⁴, alain.garrigou@u-bordeaux.fr, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7467-0643

Leïla Boudra⁵, leila.boudra@univ-paris8.fr, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5434-7868

<footnote n="1">¹ Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SAD-APT, 91120, Palaiseau, France;</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Université Paris Saclay, CNRS, UMR LISN, 91400 Orsay; ³ Université de Toulouse, CERTOP, 31100 Toulouse; ⁴ Université de Bordeaux, INSERM U1219, 33076 Bordeaux</footnote>

<footnote>cedex; ⁵ Université Paris 8, Laboratoire Paragraphe (UR 349), 93526 Saint-Denis Cedex</footnote>

<footnote n="1">¹ Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SAD-APT, 91120, Palaiseau, France;</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Université Paris Saclay, CNRS, UMR LISN, 91400 Orsay; ³ Université de Toulouse, CERTOP, 31100 Toulouse; ⁴ Université de Bordeaux, INSERM U1219, 33076 Bordeaux</footnote>

<footnote>cedex; ⁵ Université Paris 8, Laboratoire Paragraphe (UR 349), 93526 Saint-Denis Cedex.</footnote>
**Abstract (200 words)**

This article analyses the links between the ecologization of food systems and transformations of work in two Territorial Food Projects in France. Three case studies are explored, based on a reflective analysis conducted by the researchers: the governance of a Territorial Food Project; the management of a sustainable food offer in mass catering; and the project to replace plastic containers in a central kitchen. For each case, an ergonomics-based iterative methodology was used, drawing on observations, semi-structured interviews, working groups, and reflective workshops. The results reveal how workers act as essential mediators between the macro level (the Territorial Food Project and related laws), the meso level (collective action in local projects) and the micro level (the activity of actors in the food system).

**Keywords:** ecologization, participatory ergonomics, Territorial Food Projects, work, ecological transition

**Sustainable development goals:** SDG02: Zero hunger; SDG08: Decent work and economic growth; SDG11: Sustainable cities and communities; SDG12: responsible consumption and production.

# 1. Introduction

The emphasis on human and social values is reflected in the ten principles of agroecology proposed by the FAO, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. These principles stress that practices aiming at greater sustainability must be adapted to environmental, social, economic, cultural and political contexts, with a view to enhancing actors’ agentivity and enabling them to become agents of change themselves (Barrios et al., 2020). Yet recent research has highlighted a major shortcoming in work on transitions towards food sustainability: the organization of work and the role of workers, central elements of capitalist societies, remain largely underestimated (Moilanen & Alasoini, 2023). These studies highlight long-standing observations that nevertheless remain relevant: scientific, technical and practical efforts focus mainly on the environmental and economic dimensions, whereas the social dimension, while it is discussed, is often sidelined (Bazillier, 2011; Lélé, 1991). Looking at French public policy, Charrieras et al. (2024), for example, analyse how the social dimension of agroecology, which was explicitly present in 2014 in the law on the ‘future for agriculture, food and forestry’, has gradually disappeared with changes in government and a shift of emphasis to economic
performance. They argue that this is the result of a desire to federate the agricultural world and satisfy its major players.

As Prinz and Pingel (2018) have pointed out, ‘while power and politics have recently been addressed by scholars of sustainability transition, the role of labour<fnref n="1" /> as a central political actor is still underexplored’. In the humanities and social sciences, labour and work<fnref n="2" /> have been studied since the late 19th century and have been established as a complex, polysemic and constantly evolving concept (Vatin, 2014). This complexity has led researchers from a variety of disciplines – sociology, management, economics, ergonomics – to investigate it in various fields, including agriculture. In France, research on agricultural work emerged in the 1970s (e.g. Tavernier, Gervais & Servolin, 1972). This interest remains active today, as demonstrated by the bibliometric review by Malanski et al. (2022), which traces the dynamics of research on agricultural work over the last few decades, both in France and internationally. A body of research has developed specifically to explore work in forms of agroecological farming (Barrès et al., 1985; van Calker et al., 2007; Dumont & Baret, 2017; Maas, Malvestiti & Amaral Gontijo, 2020; Duval, Blanchonnet & Hostiou, 2021). These studies, which directly or indirectly address issues of transition to more sustainable agricultural production, also look at the transformations of work that these changes entail.

To date, no equivalent to this interest in work in the agricultural sector has developed in the broader field of food systems (Böhm, 2020). Although an abundant literature deals with various dimensions – nutritional (Duchin, 2005; Tilman & Clark, 2014), environmental (Garnett, 2011; Rockström et al., 2020) and socio-economic (Moragues-Faus & Marsden, 2017) –, the focus on work remains marginal (Timmermann & Félix, 2015). Some researchers, interested in integrating these different dimensions into their analyses, provide a framework to ‘better fit the complexity of ecological, health, and social processes at play with systems food transitions’ (Lamine, Magda & Amiot. 2019, p.14). Such research is however still rare, despite the extensive transformation this field is undergoing, particularly as regards economic and ecological issues. Yet neglecting the transformations of work can compromise the sustainability, and particularly the economic and social aspects, of transitions.

<footnote n="1">¹ *Labour* refers to the economic and contractual dimension of employment, understood as the socially recognized exchange of effort for remuneration (cf. Marx, 1867/1976).</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² « Any activity performed by persons of any sex and age to produce goods or to provide services for use by others or for own use » (ILO, 2019). As we will see, ergonomics highlights the distinction between prescribed work (« work as imagined ») and activity (« work as done ») ((Daniellou & Rabardel, 2005; Hollnagel, 2012).</footnote>
As food has become a key political issue (Fouilleux & Michel, 2020), public policies are increasingly integrating the ecological dimension, in addition to the traditional focus on nutrition (Romeyer, 2015). We use the concept of ecologization to refer to the processes through which environmental considerations are gradually integrated into various social spheres, such as public policies, organizational strategies, professional practices, and even individual behavior (Mormont, 2013). In France, the Territorial Food Projects (TFP) initiative has become an important example of the ecologization of the public policy. These schemes, introduced as part of the above-mentioned 2014 law, aim to relocalize agriculture and food while meeting sustainability goals. They share similarities with initiatives abroad, such as the Food Policy Councils in the USA and Canada, and the Sustainable Food Places network in the UK, which focus on participatory governance and local food systems (Blay-Palmer et al., 2016). These public policies, in France and elsewhere, make the territory one of the main scales of action for meeting contemporary challenges linked to demographic, social and ecological transitions.

As the ways in which work is considered, taken into account and transformed in these territorial projects is however poorly documented, there is a major scientific and social gap in this respect. While several studies have analysed TFPs from the angle of territorial consultation, governance, participatory democracy, and actor networks (Deverre & Lamine, 2010; Brand et al., 2020; Santini & Fournier, 2024), changes in work have rarely been addressed or, in many cases, are considered secondary. Some studies do mention, for example, the emergence of new positions such as that of TFP coordinator (Le Prince, 2022) or the redefinition of agricultural occupations (Cerf, Le Bail, Boccara & Loyce, 2024), yet the place of work transformation in food system transitions requires further analysis in this field of research, as it is a determining factor in the feasibility and success of those transitions.

In this article we explore the ways in which work is transformed in the context of the ecologization of food systems, based on the articulation between public policy (the TFP mechanism and related laws: macro level), collective action in local projects (meso level) and the work of actors of the food system (micro level). We analyse how public policies and local initiatives influence and transform work, and how the management of TFPs takes into account (or ignores) the consequences of these transformations at the micro level. Drawing on the preceding discussion and empirical case analysis, our article addresses the following research questions :
- How is the ecologization of food systems transforming work at meso and micro levels in Territorial Food Projects?

- How do the actors involved in Territorial Food Projects integrate the transformations of work into the implementation of projects that the ecologization entails?

Following a reflective analysis by the researchers, three case studies are explored: the governance of a Territorial Food Project; the management of a sustainable food offer in mass catering; and the project to replace plastic containers in a central kitchen. By investigating the work from a multi-level perspective, and by considering workers as a group of key actors in organizations seeking to promote sustainability (Süßbauer et al., 2019), we hope to contribute to a better understanding of the social dimension of sustainable transitions. Based on this analysis, we propose ways to equip the governance of food systems so that the activity of work could be fully integrated into public action.

## 2. Theoretical Framework

The concept of ‘ecologization’ has been developed and enriched by French researchers since the 1990s, particularly in the fields of environmental sociology and public policy. Lamine’s work (2015) explores a systemic and socio-historical approach of ecologization attentive to the social and normative dimensions as well as to the concrete practices aimed at ecologizing agriculture and, more broadly, food systems. Her work also highlights the need to develop an analytical framework to examine power relations and controversies surrounding ecologization, by studying the arenas of debate in which they are expressed.

In broad terms, two main approaches to the ecologisation of food systems can be identified (Duru, Therond, & Fares, 2015). The first is an optimization-oriented model, which seeks to enhance the efficiency of conventional production systems in order to mitigate their negative environmental impacts. The second is a redesign-oriented model, which applies ecological principles to agroecosystems with the aim of harnessing and reinforcing natural processes (Gliessman, Engles, & Krieger, 1998). This latter perspective entails a more profound transformation of both farming and agri-food systems, where the environment is not merely
regarded as a backdrop or a resource for production, but as a central component in its own
right<fnref n="3" />.

Ecologization refers to a multidimensional process involving cognitive, normative, and
institutional shifts. It assumes three levels of analysis and the interdependencies between them.
In this article, the macro level is characterized by public policies and various recommendations
concerning food systems in transition ; the meso level refers to TFP and the micro level focuses
on the work of actors engaged in TFP. This approach seeks to sustain the global/local dialectic
while adopting an empirical standpoint that questions the singularity of local situations.

At the meso level, ecologization process implies a reconfiguration of modes of production,
processing, distribution and consumption of food, with an emphasis on systemic approaches
integrating various stakeholders and taking specific territorial characteristics into account
(Moragues-Faus & Marsden, 2017; López-García et al., 2025). At the micro level, Ginelli
(2017, p. 23) defines ecologization of practices as any "undertaking of cognitive and normative
reframing — a change in the way of thinking about and judging a social conduct — aimed at
producing a more or less significant ecological shift in the norms (legal or implicit) and social
practices in force in the domain concerned (agriculture, the management of nature-related sports
and leisure, forestry, etc.)."

The concept of ‘ecologization of practices’ relates specifically to the transformations taking
place within professional processes, production methods, and day-to-day behaviour, to meet
the challenges of sustainability (Lamine, 2015). It requires a reconfiguration of relationships
between stakeholders, a redistribution of responsibilities and, often even a redefinition of the
goals of professional processes or projects.

To examine the process of ecologization at the meso and micro level, we draw on the
theoretical and analytical framework of ergonomics by analysing work transformations, that
include both work as imagined and work as done. While work as imagined points to the
prescribed tasks and organizational structures that define what is expected of workers in a given
role (Wisner, 1995), work as done (also known as “activity”<fnref n="4" />) denotes the concrete actions,
strategies, and adjustments actually deployed by workers in actual situations in order to cope

<footnote n="3">³ So, the concept of ecologization cannot be reduced to what is commonly referred to in English as 'greening' - a term that often suggests technical or superficial environmental adjustments and may even carry pejorative undertones, particularly in the context of 'greenwashing.'</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Activity is a foundational concept in ergonomics as developed in Europe. For the sake of clarity for an international audience, we will use the term *work as done* interchangeably with *activity*. Both concern the work actually carried out.</footnote>
with constraints and achieve effective outcomes (Falzon, 2014; Galey et al., 2024). This
differentiation is crucial in ergonomics because it emphasises workers’ agency, creativity, and
the often invisible dimensions of human contribution to reaching targeted efficacy in production
systems.

Work as done is always oriented towards a goal to be achieved that guides the worker's actions. This goal is based on norms, values, contextual and organizational objectives. Therefore, to capture the ecologization of practices, it becomes necessary to examine how the goal of work as done incorporates the ecological challenge of aiming for sustainability along with other challenges such as producing efficiently, reducing costs or protecting health. The notion of work as done (or activity) highlights the interactions between individual and collective actions, organizational structures, and broader socio-technical systems (Barcellini, Cerf & Lacomblez, 2024). We argue that, by integrating this knowledge focused on work as imagined and work as done, and which is virtually absent today, Territorial Food Projects could strengthen their contributions to the ecologization of food systems. In this way, we are interested, in this article, by the transformations of work as a whole in relation to the ecologization of food systems to highlight the role of workers as mediators between different levels (micro and meso) in Territorial Food Projects.

**3. Material and methods**

**3.1 Territorial Food Projects : a public policy and a labelling process**

Several laws outline pathways for the ecological transition of food systems, varying in
regulatory scope and in how they define ecologization. The TFP serves as a deliberative arena
where actors negotiate both their visions for transforming food systems and the integration of
policy-driven ecological dimensions. It thus constitutes a strategic site for observing work
transformations.

Territorial Food Projects must be drawn up ‘in consultation with all the actors in a given territory’ (Article L111-2-2 in French Rural and Maritime Fishing Code), without defining their scope or modalities. This is partly intended to adapt to specific local circumstances the objectives set out in the public policy drawn up at national level. This system requires the implementation of collective and territorial project dynamics, leaving open the possibility of a diversity of forms of governance (Marechal, Noël, & Wallet, 2018). It embodies public policy
to ecologize food systems at a local level and constitutes a brand, as a labelling process is
compulsory to gain access to public funds intended for these projects (Lamine, Guénnoc, &
Maréchal, 2022). France has more than 450 TFPs accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture and
Food Sovereignty<fnref n="5" />: 290 Level-1 accredited (3-year duration, emerging projects) and 161 Level-
2 accredited (5-year duration, stabilized projects).

Despite their potential to contribute to the development of sustainable food systems in their territory, TFPs face numerous challenges. First, as a voluntary approach, their implementation depends heavily on local dynamics and the financial and human resources mobilized (Banzo et. al, 2024). Second, they come up against organizational and logistical hurdles, such as the coordination between stakeholders, the complexity of supply chains, and the lack of appropriate training to support transitions towards more sustainable practices (Magrini et al., 2021). These challenges are compounded by the need to articulate territorial scales (local, regional, national) and to reconcile the sometimes divergent interests of the stakeholders involved (Arnold et al., 2022).

Mass catering is a lever structuring TFPs linking production to consumption. Although it received little attention in the 2014 law instituting the TFPs, it was strongly targeted in 2018 under the EGalim law<fnref n="6" />, at the crossroads of multiple sustainable development issues extending beyond the strict framework of food (such as waste production, for example). The measures<fnref n="7" /> imposed by the EGalim law have had a major impact on the organization of local food supply chains. The anti-waste law for a circular economy, known as the AGEC Law of 10 February 2020, reinforced these provisions by targeting the end of single-use plastic packaging in mass catering by 2040. Lastly, the Climate and Resilience Law enacted in 2021 encourages the inclusion of vegetarian menus in mass catering. Putting food on the political agenda in this way has not been without consequences for workers in the sector, since it implies far-reaching changes to production and logistic processes.

## 3.2 Methods employed on case studies research

The data analysed in this article is drawn from studies carried out under two TFPs in France:
one in Île-de-France and the other in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. They will be described below. We

<footnote n="5">⁵ https://france-pat.fr/</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ The French ‘law for balanced trade relations in the agricultural and food sector and healthy, sustainable food accessible to all’, passed in 2018, stemmed from the États généraux de l’alimentation launched in 2017.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ Such as the obligation to include at least 50% of products with quality and origin labels (including 20% organic products) in supplies, and the elimination of plastic containers in school catering by 2025 –</footnote>
selected three case studies that shed light on the articulation between the ecologization of food
systems in mass catering, and the transformation of work at the meso and micro levels of the
TFPs. Two cases were conducted within the ICAD<fnref n="8" /> project, and the third one within the
RESCOSAFE<fnref n="9" /> one. ICAD and RESCOSAFE are both interdisciplinary research projects
concerning transitions in food systems.

These cases studies were conducted between 2022 and 2024. The methodological approach
used in each case was based on participatory ergonomics (Haines et al., 2002), it means the
involvement of workers to constitute or improve their work environments, facilitated by
methods and tools from ergonomics work analysis and design. It combined semi-structured
interviews, *in situ* observations of work as done and workshops to analyse and design work
systems (Saint-Vincent, 2014). A descriptive overview of the two TFPs and the three case
studies (Table 1) provides the necessary context for the analysis developed in this article. For
more details on the methods, see the appendices. An informative and consent form is filled with
the volunteer participants and data collect were presented to them, once anonymised, before
being used which other actors.

3.2.1 *The 'De la Plaine aux Plateaux' Territorial Food Project (PAP TFP)*

The PAP TFP is a multi-partner project initiated in 2017, that includes three non-profit
associations in agri-urban territories, technical agricultural institutions, scientific research
institutions, local authorities, and devolved State administrations. It covers an agri-urban area
of 79 municipalities and 870,000 inhabitants. Since its inception, the TFP has expanded and
was awarded TFP Level 1 status in 2021, and Level 2 in 2024. Its objective, 'Acting together
to strengthen local food resilience', was broken down into six areas and 28 sub-objectives (three
to five per area), with 32 monitored projects subsidized over the period 2021-2024. Some of
the authors of this article, who are scientific partners via the ICAD project, have been involved
in this TFP process since January 2022 (Case 1 and Case 1bis). They are involved in the
governance of the TFP, particularly in facilitating action on 'sustainable food at work' through
an ad hoc working group (Case 1). They are also studying an non-profit organization in charge

<footnote n="8">⁸ The ANR ICAD research project on ‘Coupled Innovations and Sustainable Food’ aims to re-articulate the visions and projects defined at regional level for the development of more sustainable food supply systems.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ The aim of the RESCOSAFE project on ‘Catering, Health and Sustainable Food’ is to create a research centre to study the health and environmental risks associated with packaging used in mass catering.</footnote>
of a canteen that provides around 500 meals a day to staff at a university located within the TFP perimeter (Case 1bis).

### 3.2.2 The Bordeaux Métropole Territorial Food Project (BM TFP)

The BM TFP is a multi-partner project initiated in 2017 and supported by the Bordeaux Métropole, an inter-commune cooperation organization (Établissement Public de Coopération Intercommunale - EPCI) bringing together 28 communes, including the city centre of Bordeaux, and involving 814,049 inhabitants. The BM TFP obtained Level-2 recognition in 2023. Its main objective, to work 'towards a sustainable, inclusive and resilient metropolitan food system', was broken down into 12 strategic sub-objectives, with 45 actions organized into five operational areas and one cross-cutting area. Some of the authors of this article, who are scientific partners in the BM TFP via the RESCOSAFE project, have been involved in this process since July 2023 (Case 2). They are involved with the partner Cuisine Interco, the main public central kitchen in the region. Cuisine Interco is an EPCI involving two of the region's communes. It produces and delivers around 24,000 meals a day to 180 restaurants, mainly school canteens.

<table><caption>Table 1 shows the research objectives for each case study.</caption><thead><tr><th>Case study</th><th>Case 1<br>PAP TFP<br>(meso level)</th><th>Case 1 bis<br>PAP TFP<br>(micro level)</th><th>Case 2<br>BM TFP<br>(meso and micro level)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>Case context</th><td>Facilitating the governance of the TFP for sustainable food at work</td><td>Management activity for a sustainable food offer in a restaurant for adults at work</td><td>The challenge of phasing out plastic in central kitchens</td></tr><tr><th>Objective 1</th><td>Understand how the actors in charge of TFP governance design and implement the project</td><td>Understanding management's role in developing a sustainable food offer in catering for adults at work</td><td>Analysing transformations in the way work is carried out in a central kitchen as part of the move away from plastic containers</td></tr><tr><th>Objective 2</th><td>Make the issue of sustainable food in the workplace a debatable one in the TFP, and include it in the discussions on the territory's food resilience.</td><td>-</td><td>Contribute to a better integration of work transformations in the project to ban plastics in central kitchens</td></tr></tbody></table>

<caption>Table 1. Objectives by case study</caption>
## 3.3 Method employed for the collective reflexive analysis of the cases studies

A group of ergonomics, management, and political science researchers, from five teams involved in these projects, carried out a collective and reflexive analysis of the three case studies during seven three-hour meetings organized between January 2024 and January 2025. The aim was to explore how transformations in work and activities are taken into account regarding the ecologization of food systems. Following the research project analysis method proposed by Penvern et al. (2023), we adopted a three-step iterative approach:

- the cases studied were described in the form of narratives that were shared within the research collective and then discussed in depth to answer the research questions formulated previously (five meetings)

- the researchers involved in a given case provided the first author with written reports detailing their cases (around 30 pages in total). Data were processed and analysed independently by the first and last authors, in an inductive way, focusing on three main categories: TFP project management, the ecologization of practices within the TFP mass catering, and multi-level interactions (meso and micro); The interpretation of data was guided by a theoretical framework linking ecologization and ergonomics. From the former, we drew on the concept of ecologization of practices and the multi-level interactions (macro–meso–micro); from the latter, we employed the notions of work as imagined and work as done to characterize the transformations induced by ecologization.

- two additional two-hour meetings were held to discuss the data processing. This reflective activity, combined with successive cross-readings of the manuscript, enabled the team to structure, synthesize and stabilize the analysis, resulting in the final version of the article.

## 4 Results

The results reveal the importance of considering from two angles the changes made in work to effectively support transitions towards sustainable food systems:

- The ecologization of food systems generates significant transformations at the meso level (work as imagined in the Governance of TFPs) and micro level (work as done of
food system actors), which must be recognized and integrated into the TFP to ensure
the viability of the actions undertaken.

- By incorporating these transformations, TFPs may not only strengthen their impact, but also develop a more systemic view by better integrating the activities of local actors in the ecologization of practices.

4.1. Recognizing that the ecologization transforms work at the meso and micro levels of TFPs is necessary for the actions to be viable

Analysis of the data shows that public policy geared towards sustainable food (at macro level) leads to transformations in work at both meso level (TFP governance) and micro level (collective restaurants, central kitchens, logistics, etc.) within the territory. However, these transformations are not always taken into account by TFP actors, due to a lack of available skills or resources (human, technical, financial). Generally, the issue of work and its transformations to integrated some environmental challenges has not always received equal recognition and attention from one case study to the next.

In **Case 1** (PAP TFP), the work as a whole was taken into account by the researchers when they facilitated a working group to develop the use of more pulses and cereals in mass catering for adults at work. Sustainable food in the workplace was not one of the requirements stipulated in the governance of the TFP. Even though the issue was identified in the territorial food audit carried out before the project was launched, the people involved in the governance of the TFP did not include it in the Level-1 certification process. As a result, there was a lack of funding to devote to this objective, in addition to others, and it could not be pursued.

This failure to address a problem identified in the territory led the researchers to propose
setting up and facilitating an *ad hoc* working group to develop a sustainable food offer in mass
catering for adults at work. The group had ten members: stakeholders in the TFP and
representatives of private catering companies. During the four meetings that were held, each
member of the group expressed their vision of sustainable food in the workplace, the actions
implemented or planned in relation to this vision, and the difficulties encountered in identifying
the means and/or redefining the objectives. These individual data were listed on a map focusing
on the problem and were discussed collectively to delineate the fields of investigation. Two
sub-sets were identified by the members of the group: a) the need to train the actors concerned
in order to achieve the ecologization of practices, primarily by means of more plant-based and
locally produced food; and b) the logistics required to supply the catering industry with this
local offer. In the discussions, questions were of course raised not only about the layout of
kitchens and the training of cooks, but also, as in Case 2, about the training of people in charge
of procurement or of menu definition, or raising awareness among customers and building their
loyalty to a new, more plant-based offer. Other issues related to the tasks that could be attached
to the intermediate functions between raw products from the field and a range of products
needed and used in catering, and which therefore had to be provided to derive the best value
out of local products (work as imagined). This raised questions about work as done
transformations: for example, the activity involved in referencing products according to the
requirements of mass catering, whether these requirements were imposed by the companies
themselves because of the way they were organized (volume, degree of product preparation,
appropriate packaging, etc.) or imposed by regulations (health quality, quality marks). The
group also raised questions about the activity involved in grouping together products to meet
both the volume requirements and the wish to optimize transport and dispatching to canteens
(i.e. by offering a diversified range of products within the same transport channels). Without
having dealt with the issues raised, the group discussed the division of work and the viability
of local solutions. Two of the questions they explored were: Who should be responsible for
referencing local products and how does the creation of a price list envisaged within the TFP
integrate the referencing criteria expected by catering companies? What was the best way to
design and ensure the long-term viability of solutions aimed at transforming local produce such
as cereals and pulses? The last meetings scheduled would therefore focus on the issue of
developing the use of pulses and cereals in menus for company canteens, using these supply
chains. This choice was linked both to the agricultural production present within the physical
perimeter of the TFP and to the need for caterers to provide a diversified protein offer, as set
out in the national food and health plan.

In **Case 1 bis** (PAP TFP), the issue of work as imagined and work as done transformations
was considered at the micro level of mass catering for working adults. Through a design activity
that the researchers described as a ‘step by step process to construct a sustainable food offer’,
the manager of the restaurant located in the geographical area of the TFP carried out
ecologization over the long term (2012-2023, the period studied by the researchers), even before
the Egalim law. This consisted of, inter alia: contracts for local, organic or High Environmental
Value products, from 2012; reporting on labels and origins in 2015, with partial then exhaustive
traceability in subsequent years (respectively 2017 and 2020); and the introduction of
vegetarian dishes on menus (in 2022). As part of the ecologization of practices, the chefs
modified menus and envisaged other preparation techniques in the kitchen (e.g., cutting up
whole chickens), transforming the day-to-day activities of kitchen workers. The introduction of
vegetarian dishes on the menus drove work transformations (new commercial relationships,
planning of recipe tests, and training of the chefs) that appear to have been anticipated by the
restaurant manager. Indeed, before implementing this new offer, he carried out tests in the
kitchen to assess the implications, particularly in terms of workload. Based on the
recommendations of the dieticians whom the restaurant consulted, the chefs were trained to
produce home-made vegetarian food, while the manager and the buyer sought new suppliers.
Time was set aside for discussion and consultation between the manager, the buyer and the
chefs. These discussions afforded an opportunity to discuss new recipes, available products,
and the attractiveness of the dishes. The restaurant then experimented with a vegetarian offer
twice a week, which meant preparing an extra daily dish on those days and modifying the
menus. The activity (work as done) of all the workers at micro-level was clearly transformed
by this ecologisation aiming to deliver a more sustainable food offer. In 2023, , the management
team went a step further and offered one vegetarian meal a day, while maintaining the two daily
animal protein dishes on the menu. This meant that the cooks had to prepare three dishes every
day. These experiments were monitored by indicators such as the daily cost price and the
production/consumption ratio to guide the trade offs between economic and environmental
issues.

In **Case 2** (BM TFP), the identification of the issue of occupational health and the prevention of occupational risks emerged from a meeting between researchers and the governing body of the public catering organization. The phasing out of plastic was an organizational challenge for central kitchens, which had always depended on these containers to provide the link between the kitchen and the restaurants. The principle of reuse meant that the packaging of dishes, the preparation of orders, the deliveries, and the management of containers in the catering office had to be reviewed, and new activities had to be integrated, including the recovery of containers from restaurants, their washing, and their storage (work as imagined). At the start of the action-research project, the steering committee, made up of local councillors administering Cuisine Interco, had just taken two major decisions: 1) to purchase stainless steel containers with lids, to replace the single-use containers, and 2) in the absence of an alternative solution to plastic cooking bags, to stop using vacuum cooking, which allowed
food to be produced up to 20 days before the consumption date and therefore provided flexibility.

The diagnosis of the project carried out as part of the research showed that these choices had been made without complete identification of the full range of solutions to be implemented to meet the following challenges at work: management of packaging; order preparation; delivery; washing; and the logistics of reusing containers, as well as their use in catering outlets. The researchers sought to support the transformation of work by focusing on the activity of apportionment during packaging, which corresponded to order preparation (work as done). The activity of order preparation consisted in setting out the products to be allocated for the day of consumption, organizing them by reference, and then preparing the orders for each restaurant, which were loaded into lorries by delivery drivers. The products to be allocated were either: 1) 'bulk' type products (e.g. fruit, yoghurt), or 2) dishes prepared on site which, once packaged, were placed in crates stacked on wheeled trolleys. At the end of order preparation, new stacks of crates on wheeled racks were made for each restaurant.

An analysis of the current work as done revealed heavy demands in terms of posture, handling, and cognitive skills, in a difficult environment (temperature of 3 degrees centigrade, artificial lighting). The switch to stainless steel compounded these difficulties by increasing the weight of the crates (+30%) and eliminating the visibility offered by the transparent plastic film. Another major change for order-pickers concerned the digitization of traceability. This project responded to the need to track reusable containers while aiming for total digitization of food traceability. Preparers needed to be equipped to read orders and scan QR codes on containers, which created new tasks and constraints (wearing equipment, repeated scans). The researchers analysed that this project could provide resources for the activity, with an opportunity to improve the presentation of the large amount of information processed by the agents. But it also presented risks. At the order preparation stage, there was a high degree of variability both in the volumes and numbers of references to be allocated according to the menus, and in the hazards inherent in the operation of a central kitchen (e.g. last-minute menu changes caused by a machine breakdown in production, or raw material not delivered). As these contingencies gave rise to collective regulations, the researchers identified a risk of the processes becoming more rigid, which would then turn into a source of additional constraints and handling.

These results reveal a high diversity in the ways in which work as done was transformed at micro level, is taken into account by the TFP actors. Work as done at the micro level is often
taken into account to a limited extent only at meso level, as shown in the analyses carried out
in Case 1 bis (PAP TFP) and Case 2 (BM TFP). The results presented for these two cases
highlight the difficulties of making local issues (challenges encountered at the level of work as
done) visible on a wider territorial scale, in organized food systems that remain relatively top-
down. This could entail a risk of retarding or hampering the ecologization of practices in day-
to-day work, along with the ambitions of institutional ecologization carried out by the TFPs.
While the incorporation of environmental challenges regarding food production arein the
allocators' activities. On the contrary, this objective reinforces an imbalance between the
ecological, economic and social dimensions: the choice of stainless steel containers to replace
plastic ones adds complexity to the activity (linked to the opacity of these containers and the
increase in cleaning tasks) and makes the work more physically arduous (due to the weight of
these containers), not to mention the environmental impact (transport, washing, etc.).

The results also reveal the diversity in the recognition of the issues linked to the transformation
of work as whole. Nevertheless, it represents a fundamental step in enabling the circulation of
issues between the meso and micro levels, thereby facilitating their systemic management.

## 4.2 *Taking into account transformations of work means that TFPs can be enriched and made more systemic*

The results on this point indicated that when the actors in the TFP took into account the
work and its transformations, the projects were enhanced and made more systemic. Considering
these transformations meant circulating information from a multi-level perspective within the
food system. The action-research sought to establish dialogue between the meso and micro
levels of the TFPs in order to consider the impac of the ecologization of practices on the activity
of workers, and how to take this into account. On the other hand, considering transformations
in work necessarily implied reasoning at a system level. The introduction of a new objective,
such as ‘more pulses and cereals-based menus’, led to changes in other elements of the food
system (e.g. organized division of work: plant production, delivery; packaging, etc. and tools:
changing menus, referencing), which needed not only to be recognized but also to be taken into
account in TFP project management. In all three cases, it was possible to identify challenges
for the actors in the TFP territory to take these issues into account, given the complexity of the
situation of coordinating actions and the fact that questions of work and activity were not fully
integrated into the two TFP projects.

The discussions highlighted that, for **Case 1** (PAP TFP), ecologization by serving locally sourced pulses and cereals-based food would involve many work transformations. The group highlighted the challenges of reorganizing logistics in the territory. This applied both to the ways in which work as done were performed by the logisticians involved in supplying mass catering, and to the ways in which these activities were handled by the various other players, taking into account the changes in skills that might be required for each of them. The participants in the group also pointed out that the ecologization of practices required specific preparatory tasks if those issues were to be integrated into the menus. These menus furthermore had to meet the expectations of diners while retaining their valuable nutritional properties. Yet the offer remained limited and insufficiently diversified. Acknowledging the need for change, the participants pointed to the need to avoid a radical transformation of work in the kitchen, as current conditions of employment and operations in the catering industry would not allow for that without a deterioration in working conditions. These constants, combined with the movement between the meso and micro levels and the systemic approach, raised new questions about the reorganization of work in the supply chains (work as imagined): How could a reorientation of agricultural production (e.g., new varieties of cereals, new pulse crops) and the recognition of new produce under quality labels be supported so that it could be promoted in the catering sector? What technical and financial support could be provided within the TFP to help with this reorientation in a context where production hazards (linked to the climate but also to the presence of pests specific to an urban area) were increasing? The ways in which the TFP's leadership and financial support could underpin these transformations also needed to be examined, with reference here to the meso level of governance on the scale of producers. Tackling the specific issue of sustainable food in the workplace, this working group was mapping out the scope of the problem of introducing more pulse and legume-based food in mass catering for adults in the workplace within the territory. In so doing, it was fostering understanding between the workers concerned and the emergence of joint initiatives or targeted actions. Going further, by taking transformations of work into account (as imagined and as done) when reorganizing sectors, required additional resources and skills for investigation and action at micro level, which were not available at the time.

In **Case 1 bis** (PAP TFP), the transformations of work as done were both recognized and taken into account by the restaurant manager in the ecologization of practices towards a
sustainable food offer, in addition to the daily offer. Managerial activity was also guided by compromises between ecologization, production overload, and customer satisfaction (Figure 2). If we take the example of the vegetarian offer, monitoring of the indicator of the production/consumption ratio revealed the difficulty of meeting the ‘home-made’ challenge. The preparation time in the kitchen was longer, and ‘home-made vegetarian’ also meant that cooking had to be organized differently (work as imagined). Moreover, there seemed to be more wastage with home-made vegetarian dishes than with ready-made products which did not really change the customers’ perception of the dish (for example: vegetarian sausages in a couscous). At the end of the test phase mentioned above, it was nevertheless decided to increase the vegetarian offer while keeping the meat and fish dishes. The number of vegetarian menus would be increased to three per week, but the proportion of home-made products would be reduced to 50% of the vegetarian offer, so that only 50% of the vegetarian recipes were to be ‘home-made’.

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1. Managerial activity in the introduction of vegetarian dishes</figcaption></figure>

Although these decisions did not fully meet the challenges of environmental sustainability, they did consider the economic and social viability of ecologization by taking into account the activity, that is, the work as done in the kitchen and during service in the dining room. These compromises at the micro level of ecologization revealed the difficulties of *strictly* applying policies aimed at sustainable food, because reality always defies prescriptions. They highlighted the need to take into account broader issues than those linked to the use of vegetarian meals or the preparation of home-made products, and to look more broadly at the conditions under which work was carried out (preparation, packaging, customer service), including factors such as
costs, product availability, customer expectations, kitchen facilities and staffing levels, as well
as effects such as workload, food quality and customer satisfaction. Adaptations and regulations
such as those made by the manager needed to be considered to ensure that mediation between
the macro, meso and micro levels was relevant to the sustainability of the work. This
underscored the need to share knowledge and experimentation within the territory. In this case
study, what happened at the micro level was passed on to the meso level of the TFP's
governance through the researchers, with the participation of the manager of the collective
restaurant who shared his vision of sustainable food and his attempts to take charge of it within
the area.

In **Case 2** (BM TFP), after several discussions between the researchers and those involved
in the governance of Cuisine Interco (meso level) of the transformations in activities to come,
the researchers focused on the order preparation activity (micro), while maintaining interaction
with the meso level. Two bodies were set up: a working group with order preparation operators,
and an ergonomics monitoring committee comprising members of the ‘change of containers’
project team, staff representatives, management, human resources, and the prevention, quality
and methods departments of Cuisine Interco. The diagnosis carried out by the researchers was
forwarded to the local councillors administering Cuisine Interco (meso level) along with a
warning of the need for vigilance. It appeared that the most significant constraint concerned the
height at which the crates were picked up and set down, involving frequent bending over. This
diagnosis identified the risks to workers’ health associated with the anticipated changes, in a
context where there was little room to manoeuvre to reduce handling constraints, due to the
unsuitability of the building. It underscored the need for the construction of a new building,
even though that would not materialize in the immediate future.

In addition, a working group was set up to devise a new apportionment method that took
account of handling constraints, the loss of product visibility associated with the new opaque
containers, the digital traceability project, and uncertainties about the packaging method.
Several sessions were devoted to simulating order preparation, using a mock-up. These sessions
were fruitful in that they enabled suggestions to be made, and questions and blind spots in the
project to be identified through the simulation of future activity. These were then passed on to
the ‘container change’ project team. Nevertheless, pending the construction of a new,
customized building, there was little room to manoeuvre to reduce handling constraints.
Various automation solutions had been studied and invalidated; no satisfactory technical
handling aid solution had been identified at this stage, due to space constraints. Several manual
handling scenarios had been developed and were being studied. The group's proposals were examined by the monitoring committee, which decided on them before giving their feedback to the actors concerned.

The results highlight the central role of researchers in the humanities and social sciences as mediators in the creation of relations between the meso and micro levels of food transitions, as regards work. The researchers involved in the TFPs initiated spaces for dialogue, fostering better integration of the local actors responsible for dealing with issues relating to work as imagined and work as done. It thus helping to support the co-production of knowledge, with the people concerned, about the actual work as done and the work as imagined and their transformations. Moreover, it helps to circulate and discuss this knowledge, not only with micro-level actors (managers, restaurant management, etc.) but also at meso level with a wider range of actors. This circulation is particularly important since the results show that it is the micro-level actors who are directly affected by the transformations in their work and who have to take the complexity of these transformations into account and navigate through them.

### 4.2.3 Cross-case analysis

The Figure 2 present a cross-case synthesis that highlights what the three cases collectively reveal about the recognition (or neglect) of work transformations in ecologization processes within territorial food projects.

<table><thead><tr><td>Dimensions informed by the case analysis</td><td>Case 1 – Towards more pulses and cereals-based meals in corporate catering</td><td>Case 1 bis – Towards vegetarian dishes in corporate catering</td><td>Case 2 – Towards eliminating plastics in public catering</td><td>Cross-analysis</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Transformations of work as imagined</td><td>- Planning training sessions on pulses-cereals-based meals and locally produced;<br/>- Rethinking logistics to supply the catering sector with this new offer;<br/>- Determining who should be responsible for referencing local products according to external requirements;<br/>- Considering financial aspects and skills for investigation and action at the micro level.</td><td>- Establishing contracts for local and organic products;<br/>- Implementing reporting on labels and origins to ensure traceability;<br/>- Planning preparation of additional daily dish;<br/>- Planning training sessions on homemade vegetarian menus and run pilot tests in kitchens.</td><td>- Managing packaging;<br/>- Preparing orders;<br/>- Organizing delivery and washing processes;<br/>- Developing logistics for reusing containers in catering outlets;<br/>- Digitalizing order-picking.</td><td>Across cases, organizations must coordinate training, logistics, procurement responsibilities, traceability, and packaging management to effectively support ecologicalization of food system.<br/>The transformations concerned a large range of work organization and production items. When neglected, these transformations may compromise sustainability issues.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td>Transformations of work as done (activity)</td><td>- Redefining the interplays at meso level to sustain changing practices for more pulses and cereals-based meals;<br/>- Redefining the intermediate functions for grouping and referencing products</td><td>- Discussing new recipes, product availability, and dish attractiveness;<br/>- Preparing various daily dish (including introducing new preparation techniques in the kitchen)<br/>- Adjusting menus balancing ecological goals, costs and availability of products, workload, nutritional advice, and consumer expectations).</td><td>- Shifting to stainless steel requires lifting 30% more weight and reduces dish visibility; workers must bend over tanks to handle crates at pick-up and drop-off height;<br/>- Additional new activities, such as reading and processing digital orders (QR codes, scans).</td><td>At the micro-level, new constraints and compromises appeared: work as done undergo significant adjustments (recipe development, workload management, etc., new digital tools ans tasks, etc.).<br/>Such transformations of work as done are not addressed, discussed, or dealt with at the meso level.</td></tr><tr><td>Systemic vision</td><td>Sharing a vision of the allocation of functions among the various actors involved in a value chain for developing new ways of coordination (production, logistics, kitchen).</td><td>Taking into account activity-related aspects in cooking production beyond ecological goals.</td><td>Simulating and anticipating future order-preparation activities.</td><td>A systemic perspective is essential: balancing organizational structures, actual work practices, and anticipation of future tasks is key to achieve long lasting and socially sustainable ecologization.</td></tr></table>

As far as training chefs is concerned, the case studies 1 and 1bis show that the move towards sustainable food, such as serving plant-based meals, requires new skills, particularly in the preparation of local plant-based products. Case 2, which focuses on the elimination of plastic containers in central kitchens, illustrates how logistical changes involve considerable adjustments to operators' work. Without a detailed analysis of the related activities, these transformation are likely to come up against organizational or human difficulties.

In case 1bis, the workload involved in preparing homemade and vegetarian menus prompted the restaurant studied to make certain compromises that took the realities of the work into account. These same issues were also raised by the actors taking part in the ad hoc working group set up by the researchers to discuss the taking up of 'sustainable food at work'. Lastly, the reorganization of production needed to support plant-based menus and other initiatives, such as the elimination of plastic containers, required detailed consideration of meal production activities. In Case 2, the use of tools such as the simulation of order preparation with a model created by the researchers for these sessions informed discussions both with the workers and with the managers and public decision-makers. The different micro and meso levels actors were thus involved in discussions on a concrete representation of the consequences of the changes envisaged.

The results show, furthermore, that the transformations of work were not strictly limited to the objectives set at the macro level and embedded in regulatory transformations concerning
food and food systems. Other transformations also took place in the ways of work will be done;
for example, the usual traceability tools were replaced by new technological tools, which
modified the referencing, as presented in Case 2 (BM TFP). This accumulation of changes was
thus made visible by a systemic analysis of the elements influencing the conditions in which
this work took place, thus enabling usto grasp the dynamics of interdependence between the
components.

# 5 Discussion

Territorial food projects and challenges for sustainable food systems led to several work
transformations at meso and micro level. Our findings reveal that these transformations
challenge both the way work is actually performed (work as done) and the way it is prescribed
(work as imagined). These transformations require careful consideration, notably for training
of cooks; logistics; production reorganization; and occupational health issues (Lever et al.,
2022). Appropriate training, combining technical expertise and understanding of ecological
issues, is crucial to support the transformations of work in the key profession of chefs during
food system transitions. For logistics, sourcing local and sustainable products, as well as
packaging and handling, is another major challenge (Chiffoleau & Paturel, 2018).

Although studies do exist on the arduousness of work in the services of local authorities and
in the agri-food sector (Meemken et al., 2024), their specific integration into TFPs remains
limited. Furthermore, such transformations can adversely affect workers’ health and safety
(Akamangwa, 2016, etc.), thereby compromising the sustainability of work and, paradoxically,
obstructing the ecological transition of practices, despite being aimed precisely at promoting it
(e.g., Lassalle, Goutille & Boudra, 2024). However, the fact that these needs are not
systematically integrated into the TFP limits the ability of the TFP to sustainably transform
practices.

Recently published studies have identified that some factors may facilitate or hinder the
ecologization of work such as improving, monitoring, mediating, and mainstreaming, but
tensions emerge to manage the transitions towards sustainability (Hourbeckers, Salmenniemi
& Räikkönen, 2025). In fact, such factors concerns change management supported by
organizational strategies. As we presented in this article, change management cannot remain
confined to the micro level of single organizations. Rather, decision-making processes,
interactions, and interdependencies are constituted at the meso level of territories. Indeed,
transformations associated with the ecological transition of food systems are advanced, operationalized, and negotiated within territorial arenas. These insights are consistent with previous research, thereby reinforcing the importance of adopting a territorial lens to understand and manage such systemic change (Béguin & Cerf, 2024).

Other studies emphasize that sustainability transitions may yield ambivalent outcomes when they are conceived independently of actual practices, power relations, and collective dynamic (Herzog & Zimmerman, 2025). One limitation of our study is that we did not examine work through the lens of the relationship between power relations and agency, as our data did not allow for such an analysis. More broadly, ergonomics pays close attention to the capacity of workers to adjust their work as done and influence decision-making processes. Asymmetries exist that constrain or limit agency, and it would be valuable to conduct further analyses that examine more closely how agency and power relations shape decision-making at both meso and micro levels. Scholars have highlighted the problematic lack of attention to the role of power in sustainability transitions (eg., Avelino, 2017), and more specifically, to the significance of power and labor dynamics in these transitions (eg., Prinz & Pingel, 2018). Nevertheless, to our knowledge, the links between power and agency through the lens of work as done in territorial food projects remain rare, opening up original research perspectives. This gap resonates with the field of political agroecology (e.g., de Molina et al., 2002) which emphasize that sustainable transitions in food systems cannot be separated from processes of democratizing decision-making and redistributing power across actors.

This framework emphasizes also on collaborative practices among diverse actors, including farmers, local communities, and policy-makers. These categories encompass both the joint creation of knowledge and shared responsibility in production processes, fostering innovation that aligns ecological, social, and economic objectives. Ecologization proposes examining the interplays of top-down (policy and regulatory) and bottom-up (localized appropriation and practice reconfiguration) processes and how their interaction transforms cooperation and co-production of knowledge. The articulation between these levels is decisive: it conditions whether ecologization is reduced to a technocratic adaptation or matures into an agroecological transition anchored in social, and environmental justice.

Our findings indicate that ecologization cannot be sustained exclusively at the micro level, as this risks deteriorating working conditions and creating barriers to genuine ecological sustainability. Nor can it be achieved in isolation from territorial collective dynamics. The research conducted has contributed to strengthening dialogues among value-chain actors, yet broadening these exchanges to include a wider range of stakeholders remains essential. Such
an extension would enable moving beyond narrow expert-driven arenas and foster the integration of local knowledge holders into the process.

In the specific case of TFPs, this perspective also calls for a better integration of local actors involved in food system work and a rethinking of subsidiarity to more effectively address training, logistics, and production from a work-centered perspective, while also strengthening inter-level relationships through work as done-focused initiatives. In this sense, TFPs could include other actors whose skills in the field of work, production and health could support the viability and sustainability of these projects. In France, various actors such as the Mutualité Sociale Agricole (MSA), which works with farmers in particular, the Agence Nationale pour l'Amélioration des Conditions de Travail (ANACT), which works with public and private companies, or internal prevention specialists in local authorities or company departments, for example, could be involved in these projects. This would help to enhance the diverse skills involved in managing the TFPs' themes and actions.

## Acknowledgements

We extend our gratitude to all participants in the two TFPs presented here for their invaluable commitment to advancing socio-ecological sustainability and strengthening their territories.

## Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

## Funding

This research was supported by the Fondation de l'Université de Bordeaux; the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) under Grant ANR-21-CE03-0015; and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche, in association with INRAE, under the 'Chaire de professeur junior' Grant.

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Appendices

<table><thead><tr><td>Case study</td><td>Case 1 TFP PAP (meso level)</td><td>Case 1 bis TFP PAP (micro level)</td><td>Case 2 TFP BM (meso and micro level)</td></tr></thead></table>
<table><thead><tr><th>Case context</th><th>Facilitating the governance of the TFP for sustainable food at work</th><th>Management activity for a sustainable food offer in a restaurant for adults at work</th><th>The challenge of phasing out plastic in central kitchens</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Objective 1</td><td>Understand how the actors in charge of TFP governance design and implement the project</td><td>Understanding management's role in developing a sustainable food offer in catering for adults at work</td><td>Analysing changes in the way work is carried out in a central kitchen as part of the move away from plastic containers</td></tr><tr><td>Methods (for work analysis or intervention)</td><td>Participation in steering committee meetings (5) and technical committee meetings (6) working group meetings (12) (observation and contribution, note-taking); Co-organization of workshops around sustainable food in collective catering during annual TFP events (3).<br/>Semi-structured interviews with those responsible for facilitating the TFP (25 administrative executives and 4 elected officials). Interview outline: career path, missions at the workplace, main allocated tasks, degree of involvement in the FTP governance and activity performed with the FTP framework. All interviews were recorded and transcribed.</td><td>- 10 semi-structured interviews conducted between February and December 2023 with actors who have strategic and operational roles: board member (1), director (3), buyer (2), head chefs (2), storekeeper (1), catering agent (1). Interview outline: career path, description of activities (typical day or week, tools, tasks), degree of involvement in organizational changes, particularly those related to sustainable food offerings. All interviews were recorded and transcribed.<br/>- 4 days of observation between October 2022 and April 2023 in different areas of the restaurant (hot food preparation, appetizer preparation, vegetable preparation, storage, dining room, offices). Method: taking notes and photos of the layout of the spaces, the tools used, and the organization of tasks in the different areas.<br/>- 48 documents analyzed: economic reports (cost prices), operational documents (menus, technical data sheets, supplier lists), organizational documents (job descriptions, organizational charts, audits, activity reports, Vademecum), as well as documents specifically related to sustainable food supply (certification reports, food waste assessments from 2007 to 2022).</td><td>- 3 days of immersion in allocation (participant observation)<br/>- 14 days of observation in the Allocation department<br/>- 3 semi-structured interviews<br/>- 11 days of observation in the Shipping, Warehouse, and Packaging departments</td></tr><tr><td>Objective 2</td><td>Make the issue of sustainable food in the workplace a debatable one in the TFP and include it in the discussions on the territory's food resilience.</td><td>Debating how to develop and implement a sustainable food offer in a restaurant for adults at work</td><td>Contribute to a better integration of work transformations in the project to ban plastics in central kitchens</td></tr></tbody></table>
Method 2

Initiation and facilitation of a working group on sustainable food at work in conjunction with the association that coordinate the PAT and a representative from an urban community responsible for collective catering issues within the PAT (6 group meetings and a workshop expanded to 30 participants, bringing together stakeholders from farm to fork, and support structures such as local authorities and associations, and consultants working on agricultural issues, supply chain organization, and sustainability in collective catering) to discuss how to operationalize the use of cereals and pulses in corporate collective catering within the PAT territory.

Working group members: A private collective catering company, a start-up developing a range of vegetarian products, consulting firms specializing in logistics and local sourcing, local authorities, local agricultural advisory organizations and the Ile de France cooperative.

Interviews: With each member of the WG on their expectations regarding the outputs of the WG and their concerns about sustainable food procurement at work. 6 interviews were also carried out with logisticians about the functions they perform. Finally, 4 comprehensive interviews were conducted with the manager of a local collective production and processing activity of pulses and cereals about the dynamics of building this activity in relation to various markets.

- A reflective workshop conducted in June 2023 with the management team (director, board members) using a timeline tracing the actions implemented to develop the sustainable food offer since the director's arrival in the organization.

- 9 ICAD project meetings bringing together researchers and civil society partners. One board member and the director participate regularly.

- Interviews:

10 recorded interviews with project team members Interviews with staff and managers

- Facilitation of meetings:

8 working groups (including 3 simulation meetings)

5 monitoring committee meetings for the ergonomic approach

2 meetings for the presentation of the diagnostic results

- Participation in meetings:

12 monthly project team meetings
10 meetings with project managers from the 3 entities involved (central kitchen, catering offices of the two associated towns)

1 steering committee on the plastic phase-out project (local elected officials and project managers)