diff --git a/cmd/mcp-operator/app/app.go b/cmd/mcp-operator/app/app.go
index d10240a..7184c37 100644
--- a/cmd/mcp-operator/app/app.go
+++ b/cmd/mcp-operator/app/app.go
@@ -104,9 +104,6 @@ func (o *Options) runInit(ctx context.Context) error {
 	}
 
 	if o.CRDFlags.Install {
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("error building setup client: %w", err)
-		}
 		setupLog.Info("CRD installation configured, deploying CRDs ...")
 		crds := crdinstall.CRDs()
 		for _, crd := range crds {
@@ -176,6 +173,7 @@ func (o *Options) run(ctx context.Context) error {
 			RecoverPanic: ptr.To(true),
 		},
 		HealthProbeBindAddress:  o.ProbeAddr,
+		PprofBindAddress:        o.PprofAddr,
 		LeaderElection:          o.EnableLeaderElection,
 		LeaderElectionID:        "mcpo.openmcp.cloud",
 		LeaderElectionNamespace: o.LeaseNamespace,
diff --git a/cmd/mcp-operator/app/options.go b/cmd/mcp-operator/app/options.go
index 5683f41..e430dff 100644
--- a/cmd/mcp-operator/app/options.go
+++ b/cmd/mcp-operator/app/options.go
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ package app
 import (
 	goflag "flag"
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -27,6 +29,9 @@ import (
 
 const (
 	ControllerIDManagedControlPlane = "managedcontrolplane"
+	PprofEnabledEnvVar              = "ENABLE_PROFILER"
+	PprofAddrEnvVar                 = "PROFILER_ADDRESS"
+	PprofDefaultAddr                = ":8082"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -101,6 +106,9 @@ type Options struct {
 	ActiveControllers              sets.Set[string]
 	WebhooksFlags                  *webhooks.Flags
 	CRDFlags                       *crds.Flags
+
+	// options based on env vars
+	PprofAddr string `json:"pprofAddr"`
 }
 
 func NewOptions() *Options {
@@ -146,6 +154,12 @@ func (o *Options) String(includeHeader bool, includeRawOptions bool) (string, er
 	opts["authConfig"] = o.AuthConfig
 	opts["authzConfig"] = o.AuthzConfig
 
+	if o.PprofAddr == "" {
+		opts["pprof"] = "disabled"
+	} else {
+		opts["pprof"] = o.PprofAddr
+	}
+
 	// controllers
 	opts["activeControllers"] = sets.List(o.ActiveControllers)
 
@@ -312,6 +326,17 @@ func (o *Options) Complete() error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// evaluate env vars
+	if os.Getenv(PprofEnabledEnvVar) == "true" {
+		o.PprofAddr = os.Getenv(PprofAddrEnvVar)
+		if o.PprofAddr == "" {
+			o.PprofAddr = PprofDefaultAddr
+		} else if regexp.MustCompile(`^[0-9]{1,5}$`).MatchString(o.PprofAddr) {
+			// if only a port is given, prepend a colon
+			o.PprofAddr = ":" + o.PprofAddr
+		}
+	}
+
 	// print options
 	optsString, err := o.String(true, false)
 	if err != nil {