By Betta Broad
As a business owner committed to sustainability, David Gould has been a vocal opponent of fracking starting in New York State. An entrepreneur, musician and community leader in Ithaca, Gould has used his network to raise awareness about this dangerous practice and call for a shift to renewable energy. Last December, Gould even encouraged his employees at Sunbeam Candles to use part of their daily shift to submit a comment to the DEC expressing concern over the Cuomo Administration’s proposed fracking rules. When asked why he opposes fracking, Gould said, “all of the obvious reasons. Air quality, water contamination, truck traffic. Basically, quality of life.”
Putting his money where his mouth is, Gould has made sure that his company, Sunbeam Candles is run on 100% renewable energy. “If all 
businesses switched to renewables, we could start swinging the pendulum back towards earth smart awareness and away from greed centric corporate business practices that only focus on profits and stockholders’ dividends.”
He believes that Sunbeam’s branding as a solar powered candle company has actually helped him increase sales and expand production, allowing him to employ 10 full-time employees who are all paid a living wage. Gould’s opposition to fracking is intrinsically tied to his company’s mission statement that “every person deserves to live a life that is peaceful and beautiful and that this is possible to achieve without causing detriment to our health and planet.”
By committing to a sustainable business model, Gould has proved once again that you can be principled and profitable at the same time.