diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 859bb0be..ffd2dee4 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -83,9 +83,9 @@ func main() {
 		os.Exit(0)
 	}
 
-	watchNamespace, err := utils.GetWatchNamespace()
-	if err != nil {
-		klog.Error(err, "unable to get WatchNamespace, "+
+	watchNamespace, envSet := utils.GetWatchNamespace()
+	if !envSet {
+		klog.Warning("unable to get WatchNamespace, " +
 			"the manager will watch and manage resources in all namespaces")
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/utils/utils.go b/pkg/utils/utils.go
index 23ac8ca7..b23d341a 100644
--- a/pkg/utils/utils.go
+++ b/pkg/utils/utils.go
@@ -16,21 +16,15 @@ limitations under the License.
 package utils
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"os"
 )
 
-// GetWatchNamespace returns the Namespace the operator should be watching for changes
-func GetWatchNamespace() (string, error) {
-	// WatchNamespaceEnvVar is the constant for env variable WATCH_NAMESPACE
-	// which specifies the Namespace to watch.
-	// An empty value means the operator is running with cluster scope.
-	var watchNamespaceEnvVar = "WATCH_NAMESPACE"
-
-	ns, found := os.LookupEnv(watchNamespaceEnvVar)
-	if !found {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s must be set", watchNamespaceEnvVar)
-	}
+// WatchNamespaceEnvVar is the constant for env variable WATCH_NAMESPACE
+// which specifies the Namespace to watch.
+// An empty value means the operator is running with cluster scope.
+const WatchNamespaceEnvVar = "WATCH_NAMESPACE"
 
-	return ns, nil
+// GetWatchNamespace returns the Namespace the operator should be watching for changes
+func GetWatchNamespace() (string, bool) {
+	return os.LookupEnv(WatchNamespaceEnvVar)
 }