diff --git a/src/ffmpeg_normalize/__init__.py b/src/ffmpeg_normalize/__init__.py
index 96a9ad0..2815ef3 100644
--- a/src/ffmpeg_normalize/__init__.py
+++ b/src/ffmpeg_normalize/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import importlib.metadata
 
+from ._cmd_utils import ffmpeg_env
 from ._errors import FFmpegNormalizeError
 from ._ffmpeg_normalize import FFmpegNormalize
 from ._media_file import MediaFile
@@ -17,5 +18,6 @@
     "VideoStream",
     "SubtitleStream",
     "MediaStream",
+    "ffmpeg_env",
     "__version__",
 ]
diff --git a/src/ffmpeg_normalize/_cmd_utils.py b/src/ffmpeg_normalize/_cmd_utils.py
index 352496c..e491c40 100644
--- a/src/ffmpeg_normalize/_cmd_utils.py
+++ b/src/ffmpeg_normalize/_cmd_utils.py
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import contextvars
 import logging
 import os
 import re
 import shlex
 import subprocess
+from contextlib import contextmanager
 from shutil import which
 from typing import Any, Iterator
 
@@ -14,6 +16,30 @@
 
 _logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+_ffmpeg_env_var: contextvars.ContextVar[dict[str, str] | None] = contextvars.ContextVar(
+    "ffmpeg_env", default=None
+)
+
+
+@contextmanager
+def ffmpeg_env(env: dict[str, str] | None) -> Iterator[None]:
+    """
+    Temporarily set the environment for subprocess.Popen.
+
+    Args:
+        env: Environment dict to pass to subprocess.Popen.
+    """
+    token = _ffmpeg_env_var.set(env)
+    try:
+        yield
+    finally:
+        _ffmpeg_env_var.reset(token)
+
+
+def _get_ffmpeg_env() -> dict[str, str] | None:
+    return _ffmpeg_env_var.get()
+
+
 DUR_REGEX = re.compile(
     r"Duration: (?P<hour>\d{2}):(?P<min>\d{2}):(?P<sec>\d{2})\.(?P<ms>\d{2})"
 )
@@ -76,7 +102,9 @@ def run_ffmpeg_command(self, cmd: list[str]) -> Iterator[float]:
         # wrapper for 'ffmpeg-progress-yield'
         _logger.debug(f"Running command: {shlex.join(cmd)}")
         with FfmpegProgress(cmd, dry_run=self.dry) as ff:
-            yield from ff.run_command_with_progress()
+            yield from ff.run_command_with_progress(
+                popen_kwargs={"env": _get_ffmpeg_env()}
+            )
 
             self.output = ff.stderr
 
@@ -107,6 +135,7 @@ def run_command(self, cmd: list[str]) -> CommandRunner:
             stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
             stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
             universal_newlines=False,
+            env=_get_ffmpeg_env(),
         )
 
         stdout_bytes, stderr_bytes = p.communicate()
diff --git a/tests/test_all.py b/tests/test_all.py
index b0b78e0..0feaa61 100644
--- a/tests/test_all.py
+++ b/tests/test_all.py
@@ -658,3 +658,27 @@ def test_valid_file_passes_validation(self):
         # Should succeed (file exists and has audio)
         ffmpeg_normalize_call(["tests/test.mp4", "-n"])  # dry run
         # No assertion needed - if validation fails, the command will error
+
+
+def test_ffmpeg_env():
+    """Verify that ffmpeg_env context manager sets environment correctly."""
+    from ffmpeg_normalize._cmd_utils import ffmpeg_env, _get_ffmpeg_env, CommandRunner
+
+    original_env = _get_ffmpeg_env()
+    assert original_env is None
+
+    test_env = os.environ.copy()
+    test_env.update({"TEST_FFMPEG_ENV_VAR": "12345"})
+
+    with ffmpeg_env(test_env):
+        env_in_context = _get_ffmpeg_env()
+        assert env_in_context == test_env
+        # Check that commandrunner uses the env
+        cmd = CommandRunner().run_command(
+            [sys.executable, "-c", "import os; print(os.getenv('TEST_FFMPEG_ENV_VAR'))"]
+        )
+        assert cmd.get_output().strip() == "12345"
+
+    # After context, environment should be reset
+    env_after = _get_ffmpeg_env()
+    assert env_after is None