diff --git a/app/__init__.py b/app/__init__.py
index 3db0e95..76dfb78 100644
--- a/app/__init__.py
+++ b/app/__init__.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import os
 from flask import Flask, redirect, url_for
 from flask_migrate import Migrate
 from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
 
 from app.config import DevelopmentConfig, ProductionConfig
 from app.extensions import db, login_manager, scheduler
@@ -14,6 +15,8 @@ def create_app() -> Flask:
     Application factory creating the Flask app, loading config, registering blueprints,
     initializing extensions, and booting the scheduler.
     """
+    # Ensure environment variables from .env are loaded when starting via gunicorn/etc.
+    load_dotenv(os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", ".env")))
     app = Flask(__name__)
 
     config_name = os.getenv("FLASK_ENV", "development").lower()