diff --git a/application/bootstrap.php b/application/bootstrap.php
index a76dfc0..3e5492d 100644
--- a/application/bootstrap.php
+++ b/application/bootstrap.php
@@ -53,6 +53,15 @@ Kohana::init(array(
 	'base_url'   => '/',
 ));
 
+/**
+ * Set Kohana::$environment if $_ENV['KOHANA_ENV'] has been supplied.
+ * 
+ */
+if (isset($_ENV['KOHANA_ENV']))
+{
+	Kohana::$environment = $_ENV['KOHANA_ENV'];
+}
+
 /**
  * Attach the file write to logging. Multiple writers are supported.
  */