diff --git a/data/start-cosmic b/data/start-cosmic
index 7e8ccbb..4f6c80a 100755
--- a/data/start-cosmic
+++ b/data/start-cosmic
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@ export QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=1
 export QT_ENABLE_HIGHDPI_SCALING=1
 export DCONF_PROFILE=cosmic
 
-if command -v systemctl >/dev/null; then
+if command -v dbus-update-activation-environment >/dev/null; then
     # set environment variables for new units started by user service manager
-    systemctl --user import-environment XDG_SESSION_TYPE XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP DCONF_PROFILE
+    dbus-update-activation-environment --systemd XDG_SESSION_TYPE XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP DCONF_PROFILE
 fi
 # Run cosmic-session
 if [[ -z "${DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS}" ]]; then