diff --git a/pkgs/applications/office/mendeley/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/office/mendeley/default.nix
index b78eaa9fd3f..12ad8431cac 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/office/mendeley/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/office/mendeley/default.nix
@@ -96,6 +96,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   nativeBuildInputs = [ makeWrapper ];
   buildInputs = [ dpkg which ] ++ deps;
 
+  propagatedUserEnvPkgs = [ gconf ];
+
   unpackPhase = "true";
 
   installPhase = ''