diff --git a/juneau-core/juneau-marshall/src/main/java/org/apache/juneau/PropertyStore.java b/juneau-core/juneau-marshall/src/main/java/org/apache/juneau/PropertyStore.java
index 7cca861..0e005d8 100644
--- a/juneau-core/juneau-marshall/src/main/java/org/apache/juneau/PropertyStore.java
+++ b/juneau-core/juneau-marshall/src/main/java/org/apache/juneau/PropertyStore.java
@@ -240,6 +240,16 @@
 		if (s != null)
 			return PropertyStoreBuilder.MutableProperty.create(k, s).build();
 
+		try {
+			String ke = key.replace('.',  '_');
+			s = System.getenv(ke);
+			if (s != null)
+				return PropertyStoreBuilder.MutableProperty.create(k, s).build();
+			s = System.getenv(ke.toUpperCase());
+			if (s != null)
+				return PropertyStoreBuilder.MutableProperty.create(k, s).build();
+		} catch (SecurityException e) {}
+
 		return null;
 	}
 
diff --git a/juneau-doc/docs/ReleaseNotes/8.1.3.html b/juneau-doc/docs/ReleaseNotes/8.1.3.html
index 05cb78c..c8f5748 100644
--- a/juneau-doc/docs/ReleaseNotes/8.1.3.html
+++ b/juneau-doc/docs/ReleaseNotes/8.1.3.html
@@ -25,6 +25,12 @@
 		Better representation of nulls for XML and HTML content properties.
 		<br>Old:  <js>"&lt;myBean&gt;&lt;null&gt;&lt;/myBean&gt;"</js>
 		<br>New:  <js>"&lt;myBean nil='true'&gt;&lt;/myBean&gt;"</js>
+	<li>
+		Configurable properties such as {@link oaj.BeanContext#BEAN_debug} can now be set globally by either
+		system properties or environment variables.
+		<br>For <jsf>BEAN_debug</jsf> which resolves to <js>"BEAN_debug"</js>, you can use either the system
+		property <js>"BeanContext.debug.b"</js> or environment variables <js>"BeanContext_debug_b"</js> or 
+		<js>"BEANCONTEXT_DEBUG_B"</js>.
 </ul>
 
 <h5 class='topic w800'>juneau-rest-server</h5>
diff --git a/juneau-doc/docs/Topics/02.juneau-marshall/06.ConfigurableProperties.html b/juneau-doc/docs/Topics/02.juneau-marshall/06.ConfigurableProperties.html
index d8e5c8f..1fcc51a 100644
--- a/juneau-doc/docs/Topics/02.juneau-marshall/06.ConfigurableProperties.html
+++ b/juneau-doc/docs/Topics/02.juneau-marshall/06.ConfigurableProperties.html
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
  ***************************************************************************************************************************/
  -->
 
-Configurable Properties
+{updated} Configurable Properties
 
 <p>
 	Serializers and parsers have a wide variety of configurable properties.  They all extend from the 
@@ -78,8 +78,13 @@
 <p class='bpcode w800'>
 	<jc>// Clone and customize an existing serializer.</jc>
 	WriterSerializer s = SimpleJsonSerializer.<jsf>DEFAULT</jsf>
-
 		.builder()  <jc>// Create a new builder with copied settings.</jc>
 		.quoteChar(<js>'"'</js>)  <jc>// Use a different quote character.</jc>
 		.build();
 </p>
+<p>
+	Configurable properties can be set globally using either system properties or environment variables.
+	<br>For example, the <jsf>WSERIALIZER_useWhitespace</jsf> variable resolves to the string <js>"WriterSerializer.useWhitespace.b"</js>.
+	This setting can be enabled by setting the system property <js>"WriterSerializer.useWhitespace"</js> or environment
+	variables <js>"WriterSerializer_useWhitespace"</js> or <js>"WRITERSERIALIZER_USEWHITESPACE"</js> to <js>"true"</js>.
+</p>