Reading skills and the reading comprehension of texts are two basic qualifications that are essential for success in school. This is not only important in languages but also in nearly all other subjects as texts are very often the basis of teaching. Nowadays students’ problems concerning these two basic qualifications have been steadily increasing. This development is, on the one hand, based on the students’ rising reluctance to read books as well as the extensive usage of digital media. On the other hand it is sometimes the result of poor language skills of people with a migrant background. Their language acquisition sometimes is partially incomplete and they drift away from the learning process and the aspect of lifelong learning due to negative feedback (poor marks, no apprenticeship or training). One aim of the project is to focus on effective teaching methods (how a text can be read or cooperative learning). With these methods the students are able to participate in class and they are enabled to extend their language skills. We want to link this methodological approach with the topic of sustainability. In the course of the project the students should realize that, in every social context, sustainability is the guiding principle. Therefore we will examine personal decisions as well as the social context. Furthermore, we want to turn special attention to companies: how do they deal with sus-tainability and what have they done so far. Our pupils – at the threshold of their professional life – should realize that also as employees they are confronted with sustainability. With chosen aspects of sustainability we will concentrate on the primary areas of the participating schools and/ or their closeness to different kinds of companies: Palffy Miklos Kereskedelmi Szakkepzö Iskola Györ (Hungary) – food/ trade Fachschule für Mode der Stadt Wien (Austria) – textile/ fashion Robert Schuman Institut Eupen (Belgium) – water Aron Tamasi Gymnasium Odorheiu Secuiesc (Romania) – building/ living Robert-Schuman-Berufskolleg Essen (Germany) – electronical equipment/ energy Four teachers, at a time, are participating in this project. They add their special knowledge (Economy/ politics, data processing, languages, German/ methodology) to the project. In between every teaching and learning activity, the pupils and teachers work together on factual issues. These results are put into presentations (homework) via informative texts, power point presentations or video clips. The first homework deals with the current subject of debate. The second and third tasks deal with individual decisions. In this context we are going to work on the following topics: Mobile phones – no thank you?, which raw materials do we need; buy something and throw it away! The fast moving world of fashion. The fourth task deals with regional companies. It will show sustainability in a company’s culture. Towards the end of this project we want to make the pupils aware of the macroeconomic perspective of sustainability. Therefore we will work on topics such as privatisation of water supply: chances and risks; structural engineering of the 21 century. Apart from working on these topics, effective learning methods and/ or reading techniques will be chosen and teaching materials will be developed. To assure that all participating schools have a common methodological basis, the project will start with a transnational teacher conference. After a workshop about reading techniques and cooperative learning a compendium will be compiled which will be the source from which the different methods are chosen. The presentation of the different tasks, the testing of the teaching materials created in international groups as well as the resulting evaluation is the key aspect of the transnational teaching and learning activity. Furthermore, depending on the focus of our host schools we plan to visit a company, we would like to get to know the area and gain an insight into the national culture. In the course of the project a workbook will be developed (printed and on DVD). On the one hand it reflects the professional content and on the other hand the precise examples for effective teaching. This way teachers have quick and easy access to the topics and to the methodology. Sustainability is a topic in many syllabuses. Therefore the workbook will be a great help for many colleagues. Moreover, it is a topic further generations will have to deal with and that is why the workbook can be used for many years. Our vision is that the workbook will be used as a “dynamic book” in many schools, i.e. new working materials regarding this topic will be collected in this book.