Houston native helps green Cy-Fair

Marilyn Sugg, right, has worked alongside Jodie Glaze to fulfill a global treeplanting initiative put in place by her employer, Toshiba International Corp.

Marilyn Sugg, an employee of Toshiba International Corp., helped the company receive a Mayor’s Proud Partner Award for its beautification efforts in the Houston and Cy-Fair areas, which were mostly the result of a tree-planting initiative spearheaded by Toshiba.

Sugg, who has a degree in biology and chemistry, has spent her entire career working on environmental issues, including stints at Enron, EOTT Energy Liquids and others in the Houston area, as well as United Airlines in Chicago. In 2006, she took a four-year break from working life to expand her family. Two years ago, she and her husband decided to move back to the Memorial neighborhood where she grew up and resume her career.

Sugg joined Toshiba, where she has worked as the environmental and sustainability specialist since October 2010. Toshiba has several ongoing sustainability initiatives, but Sugg sought the award for the company’s work on its global tree-planting plan.

“This particular initiative is part of Toshiba Corporation’s commitment to a sustainable future protecting the environment,” Sugg said. “We have committed to plant 1.5 million trees globally by our 150th anniversary, which is set to be in 2025.”

Despite her strong personal involvement, however, Sugg does not take total credit for the program, which was already in progress when she joined the company. She maintained the momentum and has made strides toward fulfilling the initiative’s goals.

“I inherited a great program that had already been started here,” Sugg said. “It works well to plant trees in Houston in October. It’s a great time to get our employees, volunteers, families and friends out to the parks around Houston. We planted trees, and it was also a team building exercise for some of our groups here.”

Sugg has a passion for environmental causes, and she is happy to find herself in a position where she can take an active role in improving the natural conditions shared by the community.

“I really enjoy being able to work at a company where they are interested in the employees learning and growing, and TIC has shown that they are committed to that,” Sugg said. “Anything I can do that will help the company achieve that and continue to grow is very important.”

ABOUT MARILYN SUGG
OCCUPATION: Senior Environmental and Sustainability Specialist at Toshiba International Corp.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Works at Toshiba, located in the Cy-Fair region
FAST FACT: Graduated from Houston Baptist University