Global Commodities Forum - Session 2: Sustainable solutions to address water challenges

Adrian Cashman has over 40 years of experience in the water sector. He has been working as an international consultant based in Barbados on projects across the Caribbean.

Prior to setting up his consultancy in 2018, he spent 12 years with the University of the West Indies and served as the Director of the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES). Whilst Director he led CERMES’s postgraduate teaching and research programmes in water resources management, broadening its focus and outreach activities. As a lead research he was responsible for water and climate change funded research and consultancy projects, and as a teacher he has trained a significant cohort of young Caribbean water professionals.

Prior to joining CERMES, Dr Cashman worked in the water sector in the United Kingdom and Sub-Saharan Africa. He has been Head of Water Supply Operations and Civil Design with the government in Namibia in the Department of Water Affairs, introducing EIA’s as part of feasibility studies, developed a cost accounting framework, worked for six years in water resources planning, and was part of the team on the Corporatization of the Namibia Department of Water Affairs. Dr Cashman’s published works cover a diverse range of fields including critical accounting, geography, resource management and future studies.

He has worked with a wide range of international and regional organizations on water and climate related matters. He is a reviewer on the IPCC 6th Assessment Report and an editor for the Water Supply Journal as well as a reviewer for several journals, he serves on the Technical Advisory Committee of Global Water Partnership, is Vice-Chair of the GWP-Caribbean Technical Committee, and over the last 10 years has taken part in the annual Caribbean High Level Ministerial Water Forum.

He has worked with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, the Inter-American Development Bank, Food and Agricultural Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Development Programme, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, as well as UK Government Departments, UK Water Industry Research, the House of Lords, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Andre Langwost is the President of Eurosolar France, the French division of Eurosolar, the non-profit European Association for Renewable Energies.

He is also a founding partner and CDO (Chief Development Officer) of Climate Capital in Geneva, Switzerland. He is an executive advisor and former Secretary General of ESMC, the European Solar Manufacturing Council, based in Brussels, Belgium. Mr. Langwost is a special advisor to CleanTech Business Club (Abu Dhabi and Paris) and worked 25 years as a business lawyer in France and Germany, specialized in Cleantech: Renewable Energies, Energy Efficiency and sustainable Cleantech start up’s.

Mr. Langwost holds degrees in Law and History from the Universities of Goettingen, Freiburg (Germany), Montpellier (France) and Kraków (Poland), and is admitted to the German bar.

Allan Williams has been involved in the cotton industry for pretty much his entire life, having grown up on a cotton farm and worked in various industry roles since 1995. Two intersecting themes have dominated Allan’s work in cotton: research and sustainability.

His initial role involved working with cotton growers to review and prioritise research investments in cotton growing. Allan also led the development of the Australian cotton industry’s BMP program (now myBMP). Following 11 years working on BMP Allan then started working for the global Better Cotton Initiative, again leading the development of the definition of Better Cotton. This saw him expand his cotton farming perspective to locations including Brazil, West Africa, India and Pakistan.

Since leaving BCI in 2012 Allan has worked for the Australian Cotton Research & Development Corporation, where he is now the General Manager for R&D Investment.