diff --git a/lib/scala/runtime-version-manager/src/main/scala/org/enso/runtimeversionmanager/runner/JVMSettings.scala b/lib/scala/runtime-version-manager/src/main/scala/org/enso/runtimeversionmanager/runner/JVMSettings.scala
index b6ee7cc5add..02b77e1dcc1 100644
--- a/lib/scala/runtime-version-manager/src/main/scala/org/enso/runtimeversionmanager/runner/JVMSettings.scala
+++ b/lib/scala/runtime-version-manager/src/main/scala/org/enso/runtimeversionmanager/runner/JVMSettings.scala
@@ -59,7 +59,9 @@ object JVMSettings {
 
   private def jvmOptionIfSet(name: String): Option[(String, String)] = {
     val propertyValue = System.getProperty(name)
-    Option(propertyValue).map((name, _))
+    if (propertyValue != null && !propertyValue.isEmpty)
+      Some((name, propertyValue))
+    else None
   }
 
 }