Diane Phillips, Ph.D., professor of marketing at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, is available to comment on Pope Francis’s anticipated climate change encyclical, “Laudato si,” (Praised Be). Phillips has been writing, speaking, and doing research on sustainability for more than 20 years, and recently became a certified member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, an elite group of thought leaders that have been trained by Al Gore to deliver The New Climate Realty presentation.

“Pope Francis’ choice to address the real and important matter of climate change breaks the notion that identifying as conservative or liberal, religious or secular, defines one’s stance on or understanding of these issues – or that somehow being tuned into these issues and being faithful to a religion are mutually exclusive,” says Phillips.

“It’s exciting to see a religious leader, a world leader, like Pope Francis take a stance on this and it makes me hopeful that this could signal a positive step forward in the conversation on climate change. Though American businesses have continuously increased their focus on sustainability, the United States is far behind the rest of the world in terms of political action and legislation around this issue. Pope Francis’ influence on the way we, as both consumers and citizens, think about climate change and demand action, could be very significant.”