diff --git a/scripts/performance/utils/executors.py b/scripts/performance/utils/executors.py
index a1ba8fac2b..8e012845cc 100644
--- a/scripts/performance/utils/executors.py
+++ b/scripts/performance/utils/executors.py
@@ -96,20 +96,22 @@ def slurm_executor(
                 f"Logs will be written to {get_nemorun_home()}, which is probably not desired.  export NEMORUN_HOME in your shell environment or use the --log_dir argument"
             )
 
+    perf_env = PERF_ENV_VARS.copy()
+
     if wandb_key is not None:
-        PERF_ENV_VARS["WANDB_API_KEY"] = wandb_key
+        perf_env["WANDB_API_KEY"] = wandb_key
 
     if gpu.lower() == "gb200":
-        PERF_ENV_VARS["NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL"] = "PHB"  # For NCCL 2.25
-        PERF_ENV_VARS["NCCL_NET_GDR_C2C"] = "1"  # For NCCL 2.26
+        perf_env["NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL"] = "PHB"  # For NCCL 2.25
+        perf_env["NCCL_NET_GDR_C2C"] = "1"  # For NCCL 2.26
 
     if nemo_home != DEFAULT_NEMO_CACHE_HOME:  # DO NOT change this to 'DEFAULT_NEMO_HOME'/'NEMO_HOME'
-        PERF_ENV_VARS["NEMO_HOME"] = nemo_home
+        perf_env["NEMO_HOME"] = nemo_home
         mounts.extend([f"{nemo_home}:{nemo_home}"])
     if hf_token is not None:
-        PERF_ENV_VARS.update({"HF_TOKEN": hf_token, "TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE": "0"})
+        perf_env.update({"HF_TOKEN": hf_token, "TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE": "0"})
 
-    PERF_ENV_VARS.update(custom_env_vars)
+    perf_env.update(custom_env_vars)
     mounts.extend(custom_mounts)
 
     # add --segment flag to sbatch if job uses GB200.
@@ -143,7 +145,8 @@ def slurm_executor(
         gres=gres,
         container_image=container_image,
         container_mounts=mounts,
-        env_vars=PERF_ENV_VARS,
+        env_vars=perf_env,
+        container_env=sorted(perf_env.keys()),
         srun_args=srun_args,
         time=time_limit,
         mem="0",
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/scripts/performance/test_executors.py b/tests/unit_tests/scripts/performance/test_executors.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a03d12bac8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/scripts/performance/test_executors.py
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2026, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+"""Tests for scripts/performance/utils/executors.py — container_env on SlurmExecutor."""
+
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+# scripts/performance is not an installed package; add it to sys.path so we
+# can import ``utils.executors`` the same way the scripts themselves do.
+_PERF_SCRIPTS_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[4] / "scripts" / "performance"
+if str(_PERF_SCRIPTS_DIR) not in sys.path:
+    sys.path.insert(0, str(_PERF_SCRIPTS_DIR))
+
+try:
+    import nemo_run  # noqa: F401
+
+    HAS_NEMO_RUN = True
+except ImportError:
+    HAS_NEMO_RUN = False
+
+if HAS_NEMO_RUN:
+    from utils.executors import PERF_ENV_VARS, slurm_executor
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(not HAS_NEMO_RUN, reason="nemo_run not installed")
+def test_container_env_includes_perf_vars(tmp_path):
+    """PERF_ENV_VARS keys must appear in container_env so they override container defaults."""
+    executor = slurm_executor(
+        gpu="h100", account="test", partition="test",
+        log_dir=str(tmp_path), nodes=1, num_gpus_per_node=8,
+    )
+    assert executor.container_env is not None, "container_env is None — was the field removed from the executor?"
+    missing = set(PERF_ENV_VARS) - set(executor.container_env)
+    assert not missing, f"PERF_ENV_VARS keys missing from container_env: {missing}"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(not HAS_NEMO_RUN, reason="nemo_run not installed")
+def test_custom_env_vars_in_container_env(tmp_path):
+    """Vars passed via custom_env_vars must also appear in container_env."""
+    executor = slurm_executor(
+        gpu="h100", account="test", partition="test",
+        log_dir=str(tmp_path), nodes=1, num_gpus_per_node=8,
+        custom_env_vars={"MY_CUSTOM_VAR": "1"},
+    )
+    assert "MY_CUSTOM_VAR" in executor.container_env
+
+