diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 2a7b76560c..a59e6f7e3a 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ option(dagmc    "Enable support for DAGMC (CAD) geometry"        OFF)
 #===============================================================================
 
 set(MPI_ENABLED FALSE)
-if($ENV{CXX} MATCHES "(mpi[^/]*|CC)$")
-  message(STATUS "Detected MPI wrapper: $ENV{CXX}")
+if(${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER} MATCHES "(mpi[^/]*|CC)$")
+  message(STATUS "Detected MPI wrapper: ${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}")
   set(MPI_ENABLED TRUE)
 endif()