diff --git a/compose/startup-order.md b/compose/startup-order.md
index 95a33ef829..4810a0932f 100644
--- a/compose/startup-order.md
+++ b/compose/startup-order.md
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ script:
         shift
         cmd="$@"
 
-        until psql -h "$host" -U "postgres" -c '\q'; do
+        until PGPASSWORD=$POSTGRES_PASSWORD psql -h "$host" -U "postgres" -c '\q'; do
           >&2 echo "Postgres is unavailable - sleeping"
           sleep 1
         done