Muscat Coffee Chat on Business and Human Rights
Date: Friday, 20 November 2026
Time: 10:00 AM–12:00 PM
Venue: Focus Point Café, Muscat
Hosts: Gulf Sustain Community of Practice on Business and Human Rights in collaboration with The Long Table
Register: Free to attend; registration required (Places are limited to keep the conversation small and interactive)
Join us for the first Gulf Sustain Community of Practice gathering in Muscat: an informal coffee chat on business and human rights in practice in Oman, and what we can learn from experiences here and across the wider Gulf.
We are organising this first gathering in collaboration with The Long Table, an Oman-born convening platform for carefully designed conversations that bring different perspectives together, encourage dialogue and create connections across sectors.
As Oman continues to diversify its economy, what role can businesses play in supporting responsible and sustainable growth? Areas such as worker welfare, responsible recruitment, climate resilience and heat stress, alongside developments in ESG and responsible investment, offer opportunities to connect business practice with Oman’s broader development ambitions.
This coffee chat is an opportunity to bring together people working on these issues, share experiences, learn from existing practices and explore opportunities to work together.
We are pleased to welcome Andrew Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Services, as our guest speaker. Andrew will share why Renaissance has made human rights and worker welfare a priority in its business strategy, and what this has meant in practice.
What we will explore
- What does business and human rights look like in practice in Oman?
- What can we learn from approaches already being developed here?
- How can worker welfare and climate resilience contribute to responsible and sustainable economic growth?
- What can Oman’s experience contribute to the wider Gulf?
- Where are there opportunities to work together?
Gulf Sustain will also briefly share some of its work in Oman and across the wider region on responsible recruitment, worker welfare and climate-resilient labour mobility.
How it works
- This is a conversation, so come ready to talk as well as listen.
- A few short reflections will get us started, followed by table conversations and time to make connections.
- No panel, no long presentations, no slides.
The idea is simple: leave having learned something useful, met someone you want to stay in touch with, and moved one conversation forward.
Who should join
People working across business, government, worker and community organisations, academia, sustainability, ESG, labour, climate, responsible investment and the diplomatic community.
No specialist business and human rights expertise is required, just an interest in responsible business and a willingness to share experience.
About the Community of Practice
The Gulf Sustain Community of Practice brings together people working on business and human rights across the Gulf to share experience, make connections and explore practical approaches to responsible business. Through our gatherings, we aim to connect people across sectors and countries and build on the knowledge and experience already present in the region.
Gulf Sustain is an initiative of the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB).