diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index d1084c877..953a3da8c 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -206,6 +206,12 @@ set(ORBITER_PLANET_TEXTURE_INSTALL_DIR
 	PATH
 	"Planet texture installation directory (e.g. C:/Orbiter2016/Textures)"
 )
+
+if(DEFINED ENV{ORBITER_PLANET_TEXTURE_INSTALL_DIR})
+  set(ORBITER_PLANET_TEXTURE_INSTALL_DIR $ENV{ORBITER_PLANET_TEXTURE_INSTALL_DIR})
+  message(STATUS "Using environment: ORBITER_PLANET_TEXTURE_INSTALL_DIR=${ORBITER_PLANET_TEXTURE_INSTALL_DIR}")
+endif()
+
 string(COMPARE NOTEQUAL ${ORBITER_PLANET_TEXTURE_INSTALL_DIR} "${ORBITER_BINARY_ROOT_DIR}/Textures" CUSTOM_PLANET_TEXTURE_DIR)
 
 if (${CUSTOM_PLANET_TEXTURE_DIR})
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f4bc5b8da..605fcdb32 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -93,6 +93,9 @@ To configure Orbiter to use the texture installation, set the
 ORBITER_PLANET_TEXTURE_INSTALL_DIR entry in CMake. For example, if Orbiter
 was installed in `C:\Orbiter`, the CMake option should be set to
 `C:/Orbiter/Textures`.
+
+This path can also be set using ORBITER_PLANET_TEXTURE_INSTALL_DIR environment variable
+
 Alternatively, you can configure the texture directory after building Orbiter
 by setting the `PlanetTexDir` entry in `Orbiter.cfg`.