diff --git a/shared/repositories/tests/integration/conftest.py b/shared/repositories/tests/integration/conftest.py
index 870dd8c..15bde11 100644
--- a/shared/repositories/tests/integration/conftest.py
+++ b/shared/repositories/tests/integration/conftest.py
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ random.seed(13)
 
 # load local test environment variables
 test_env_path = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent.parent.parent / 'test.env'
-if test_env_path.exists():
-    load_dotenv(test_env_path.as_posix())
+load_dotenv(test_env_path.as_posix())
+load_dotenv(os.getenv('GITHUB_ENV', default='.'))
 
 # define test environment variables
 necessary_env_vars = {