diff --git a/lib/shared/layers/python-sdk/python/genai_core/chunks.py b/lib/shared/layers/python-sdk/python/genai_core/chunks.py
index ebadd1b70..ec136fbd6 100644
--- a/lib/shared/layers/python-sdk/python/genai_core/chunks.py
+++ b/lib/shared/layers/python-sdk/python/genai_core/chunks.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 from typing import List, Optional
 from langchain.text_splitter import RecursiveCharacterTextSplitter
 
-PROCESSING_BUCKET_NAME = os.environ["PROCESSING_BUCKET_NAME"]
+PROCESSING_BUCKET_NAME = os.environ.get("PROCESSING_BUCKET_NAME", "")
 s3 = boto3.resource("s3")