diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index db78de99..d06bc4d7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ will consitute of a breaking change warranting a new major release:
   recovery handling becomes stuck in the custom recovery sequence when swichting power back on.
 - The dual lane custom recovery handling was adapted to always perform proper power switch handling
   irrespective of current or target modes.
+- The cross compiler binary path now needs to be set explicitely as an environmental variable
+  named `CROSS_COMPILE_BIN_PATH` when setting up the build system. This prevents CMake from
+  selecting wrong cross-compilers. CMake will not seach in the system path for cross-compilers
+  anymore.
 
 # [v2.0.4] 2023-04-19
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cd350386..6b06283c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -99,11 +99,21 @@ When using Windows, run theses steps in MSYS2.
    git submodule update --init
    ```
 
-3. Ensure that the cross-compiler is working with `arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc --version` and that
+3. Create two system variables to pass the system root path and the cross-compiler path to the
+   build system. You only need to do this once when setting up the build system.
+   Example for Unix:
+
+   ```sh
+   export CROSS_COMPILE_BIN_PATH=<absolutePathToCrossCompilerBinPath>
+   export ZYNQ_7020_SYSROOT=<absolutePathToSysroot>
+   ```
+
+4. Ensure that the cross-compiler is working with
+   `${CROSS_COMPILE_BIN_PATH}/arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc --version` and that
    the sysroot environmental variables have been set like specified in the
    [root filesystem chapter](#sysroot).
 
-4. Run the CMake configuration to create the build system in a `build-Debug-Q7S` folder.
+5. Run the CMake configuration to create the build system in a `build-Debug-Q7S` folder.
    Add `-G "MinGW Makefiles` in MinGW64 on Windows.
 
    ```sh
@@ -112,7 +122,7 @@ When using Windows, run theses steps in MSYS2.
    cmake --build . -j
    ```
 
-   You can also use provided shell scripts to perform these commands.
+   Please note that you can also use provided shell scripts to perform these commands.
    ```sh
    cp scripts/q7s-env.sh ..
    cp scripts/q7s-env-em.sh ..
@@ -144,7 +154,7 @@ When using Windows, run theses steps in MSYS2.
    There are also different values for `-DTGT_BSP` to build for the Raspberry Pi
    or the Beagle Bone Black: `arm/raspberrypi` and `arm/beagleboneblack`.
 
-5. Build the software with
+6. Build the software with
 
    ```sh
    cd cmake-build-debug-q7s
diff --git a/q7s-env-em.sh b/q7s-env-em.sh
index 86737627..969d9ec0 100755
--- a/q7s-env-em.sh
+++ b/q7s-env-em.sh
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # custom cross-compiler and sysroot path setups
 
 # Adapt the following two entries to your need
-CROSS_COMPILE_BIN_PATH="/opt/q7s-gcc/gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf/bin"
+export CROSS_COMPILE_BIN_PATH="/opt/q7s-gcc/gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf/bin"
 export ZYNQ_7020_SYSROOT="/opt/xiphos/sdk/ark/sysroots/cortexa9hf-neon-xiphos-linux-gnueabi"
 
 export PATH=$PATH:${CROSS_COMPILE_BIN_PATH}
diff --git a/q7s-env.sh b/q7s-env.sh
index 5cf608a0..4dea9154 100755
--- a/q7s-env.sh
+++ b/q7s-env.sh
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # custom cross-compiler and sysroot path setups
 
 # Adapt the following two entries to your need
-CROSS_COMPILE_BIN_PATH="/opt/q7s-gcc/gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf/bin"
+export CROSS_COMPILE_BIN_PATH="/opt/q7s-gcc/gcc-arm-8.3-2019.03-x86_64-arm-linux-gnueabihf/bin"
 export ZYNQ_7020_SYSROOT="/opt/xiphos/sdk/ark/sysroots/cortexa9hf-neon-xiphos-linux-gnueabi"
 
 export PATH=$PATH:${CROSS_COMPILE_BIN_PATH}