Good practice is key to change: Rabin Doolub’s sustainability with heart

Rabin Doolub doesn’t fit neatly into any one box. He’s been a teacher, a civil servant, and is now a sustainability leader in higher education. What ties his journey together is a deep commitment to making meaningful change and doing it in a way that puts people first.

As Head of Environmental Sustainability at Middlesex University, Rabin is focused on more than just compliance and reporting. Yes, the university has achieved and retained Platinum status with EcoCampus under his leadership. And yes, they continue to meet ISO 14001 standards. But for Rabin, these achievements are just the foundation. What really drives him is the opportunity to shift culture and thinking around sustainability, both within the university and beyond.

“I’ve always believed that good practice is key to change,” he says. “We need to keep asking ourselves why we’re doing what we’re doing. That kind of reflection is where real transformation begins.”

Before stepping into his current role, Rabin worked at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), where he helped shape energy policy and supported the UK’s journey towards Net Zero. He also played a role in improving work-life balance across the organisation, an issue he’s still passionate about today. His work at BEIS deepened his understanding of government policy and environmental strategy and earned him PIEMA accreditation as a professional environmental practitioner.

Rabin’s path into sustainability began even earlier, during his time as a humanities teacher in Malaysia. Teaching gave him a strong appreciation for inclusion, communication, and adaptability. These values continue to inform how he approaches his work today.

One thing Rabin feels strongly about is how the conversation around climate change needs to change. He believes public engagement often misses the mark, especially when it fails to consider how different people process information. “We’re not taking neurodiversity into account,” he says. “We’re not building enough trust, and we’re not communicating in ways that really connect with people.”

He worries that the climate crisis is sometimes treated as a political or “woke” issue, which ends up excluding the very communities that should be at the centre of the conversation. For Rabin, inclusivity is non-negotiable. “If we want real change, we need to make the message accessible and relatable. We need to rethink how we communicate, and who we’re communicating with.”

At Middlesex, Rabin saw a unique opportunity to combine his policy expertise with his passion for education. While his role sits within the university’s estates team, he has worked closely with academics to integrate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into the curriculum. For him, sustainability isn’t just about managing resources efficiently. It’s about equipping students with the skills and mindset they’ll need to tackle global challenges in their own careers.

Wellbeing is another theme that runs through Rabin’s work. He has developed webinars and initiatives that weave together environmental goals and wellbeing strategies, based on his belief that the two are deeply connected. His interest in wellbeing dates back to his teaching days and was reinforced by work he did in the Civil Service. “Wellbeing often gets overlooked in conversations about climate,” he says. “But if we’re not supporting people, how can we expect them to care for the planet?”

Rabin sees himself as a mediator, as someone who can bring different stakeholders to the table and help find common ground. He is curious about how we can use big data more effectively to tackle climate challenges, and how to hold larger organisations accountable for their carbon footprints. But he also believes that universities have a bigger role to play in shaping national policy and leading by example.

“We’re moving too slowly,” he says. “Higher education has so much potential to drive real progress, not just within institutions but across society. We need to be braver.”

Rabin’s approach is rooted in collaboration, reflection, and action. He’s not here to tick boxes. He’s here to make change, thoughtfully, practically, and with purpose.

Rabin Doolub, Head of Environmental Sustainability at Middlesex University

Rabin’s LinkedIn

Rabin was interviewed by Jaya Gajparia as part of her new ACCCESS interview series, spotlighting environmental social scientists with global-majority backgrounds. Read more.