diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 7e93602019..788982121d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ jobs:
         ./ci/do_ci.sh cmake.abseil.test
 
   cmake_gcc_48_test:
-    name: CMake gcc 4.8
+    name: CMake gcc 4.8 (without otlp exporter)
     runs-on: ubuntu-18.04
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v2
@@ -59,6 +59,29 @@ jobs:
         CC: /usr/bin/gcc-4.8
         CXX: /usr/bin/g++-4.8
 
+  cmake_gcc_48_otlp_exporter_test:
+    name: CMake gcc 4.8 (with otlp exporter)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-18.04
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      with:
+        submodules: 'recursive'
+    - name: setup
+      run: |
+        sudo ./ci/setup_ci_environment.sh
+        sudo ./ci/install_gcc48.sh
+    - name: setup cmake
+      run: |
+        sudo CC=/usr/bin/gcc-4.8 CXX=/usr/bin/g++-4.8 ./ci/setup_cmake.sh
+    - name: setup grpc
+      run: |
+        sudo CC=/usr/bin/gcc-4.8 CXX=/usr/bin/g++-4.8 ./ci/setup_grpc.sh -v 4.8
+    - name: run tests
+      run: ./ci/do_ci.sh cmake.legacy.exporter.otprotocol.test
+      env:
+        CC: /usr/bin/gcc-4.8
+        CXX: /usr/bin/g++-4.8
+
   cmake_test_cxx20:
     name: CMake C++20 test
     runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 822e78bf37..8cbd374b3f 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -152,7 +152,14 @@ option(WITH_ELASTICSEARCH
 
 option(WITH_JAEGER "Whether to include the Jaeger exporter" OFF)
 
+option(WITH_NO_GETENV "Whether the platform supports environment variables" OFF)
+
 option(BUILD_TESTING "Whether to enable tests" ON)
+
+if(WITH_NO_GENENV)
+  add_definitions(-DNO_GETENV)
+endif()
+
 if(WIN32)
   add_definitions(-DNOMINMAX)
   if(BUILD_TESTING)
diff --git a/ci/do_ci.sh b/ci/do_ci.sh
index 483194c373..3c1be05119 100755
--- a/ci/do_ci.sh
+++ b/ci/do_ci.sh
@@ -92,6 +92,22 @@ elif [[ "$1" == "cmake.legacy.test" ]]; then
   make
   make test
   exit 0
+elif [[ "$1" == "cmake.legacy.exporter.otprotocol.test" ]]; then
+  cd "${BUILD_DIR}"
+  rm -rf *
+  export BUILD_ROOT="${BUILD_DIR}"
+  ${SRC_DIR}/tools/build-gtest.sh
+  ${SRC_DIR}/tools/build-benchmark.sh
+  cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug  \
+        -DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=11 \
+        -DWITH_OTLP=ON \
+        "${SRC_DIR}"
+  grpc_cpp_plugin=`which grpc_cpp_plugin`
+  proto_make_file="CMakeFiles/opentelemetry_proto.dir/build.make"
+  sed -i "s~gRPC_CPP_PLUGIN_EXECUTABLE-NOTFOUND~$grpc_cpp_plugin~" ${proto_make_file} #fixme
+  make -j $(nproc)
+  cd exporters/otlp && make test
+  exit 0
 elif [[ "$1" == "cmake.exporter.otprotocol.test" ]]; then
   cd "${BUILD_DIR}"
   rm -rf *
diff --git a/ci/setup_grpc.sh b/ci/setup_grpc.sh
index 98780bb943..f6c1f9885a 100755
--- a/ci/setup_grpc.sh
+++ b/ci/setup_grpc.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,30 @@
 
 set -e
 export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+old_grpc_version='v1.33.2'
+new_grpc_version='v1.39.0'
+gcc_version_for_new_grpc='5.1'
+install_grpc_version=${new_grpc_version}
+grpc_version='v1.39.0'
+usage() { echo "Usage: $0 -v <gcc-version>" 1>&2; exit 1; }
 
+while getopts ":v:" o; do
+    case "${o}" in
+        v)
+            gcc_version=${OPTARG}
+            ;;
+        *)
+            usage
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+if [ -z "${gcc_version}" ]; then
+    gcc_version=`gcc --version | awk '/gcc/  {print $NF}'`
+fi
+if [[ "${gcc_version}" < "${gcc_version_for_new_grpc}" ]]; then
+    echo "less"
+    install_grpc_version=${old_grpc_version}
+fi
 if ! type cmake > /dev/null; then
     #cmake not installed, exiting
     exit 1
@@ -13,18 +36,26 @@ fi
 export BUILD_DIR=/tmp/
 export INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/
 pushd $BUILD_DIR
-git clone --depth=1 -b v1.34.0 https://github.com/grpc/grpc
-cd grpc
+echo "installing grpc version: ${install_grpc_version}"
+git clone --depth=1 -b ${install_grpc_version} https://github.com/grpc/grpc
+pushd grpc
 git submodule init
 git submodule update --depth 1
-mkdir -p cmake/build
-pushd cmake/build
+mkdir -p "third_party/abseil-cpp/build" && pushd "third_party/abseil-cpp/build"
+cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release  \
+      -DCMAKE_POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE=TRUE \
+      -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$INSTALL_DIR ..
+make -j${nproc} install && popd
+mkdir -p build && pushd build
 cmake -DgRPC_INSTALL=ON \
+    -DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=11 \
     -DgRPC_BUILD_TESTS=OFF \
     -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$INSTALL_DIR \
-    ../..
+    -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=$INSTALL_DIR \
+    ..
 make -j $(nproc)
 make install
 popd
 popd
+
 export PATH=${INSTALL_DIR}/bin:$PATH  # ensure to use the installed grpc
diff --git a/exporters/jaeger/src/udp_transport.cc b/exporters/jaeger/src/udp_transport.cc
index 6ae41e7b9a..306a0e97fc 100644
--- a/exporters/jaeger/src/udp_transport.cc
+++ b/exporters/jaeger/src/udp_transport.cc
@@ -39,11 +39,11 @@ void UDPTransport::InitSocket()
   int err = WSAStartup(wVersionRequested, &wsaData);
   if (err != 0)
   {
-    OTEL_INTERNAL_LOG_ERROR("Jaeger Exporter: WSAStartup failed with error: " << error);
+    OTEL_INTERNAL_LOG_ERROR("Jaeger Exporter: WSAStartup failed with error: " << err);
     return;
   }
 
-  /* Confirm that the WinSock DLL supports 2.2.*/
+  /* Confirm that the WinSock DLL supports 2.2.        */
   /* Note that if the DLL supports versions greater    */
   /* than 2.2 in addition to 2.2, it will still return */
   /* 2.2 in wVersion since that is the version we      */
@@ -51,7 +51,9 @@ void UDPTransport::InitSocket()
 
   if (LOBYTE(wsaData.wVersion) != 2 || HIBYTE(wsaData.wVersion) != 2)
   {
-    // TODO: handle error that WinSock 2.2 is not supported.
+    OTEL_INTERNAL_LOG_ERROR("Jaeger Exporter: winsock " << LOBYTE(wsaData.wVersion) << "."
+                                                        << HIBYTE(wsaData.wVersion)
+                                                        << " is not supported.");
     WSACleanup();
 
     return;
diff --git a/exporters/otlp/include/opentelemetry/exporters/otlp/otlp_grpc_exporter.h b/exporters/otlp/include/opentelemetry/exporters/otlp/otlp_grpc_exporter.h
index b3df30d259..31ad058c6d 100644
--- a/exporters/otlp/include/opentelemetry/exporters/otlp/otlp_grpc_exporter.h
+++ b/exporters/otlp/include/opentelemetry/exporters/otlp/otlp_grpc_exporter.h
@@ -11,26 +11,56 @@
 
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/exporter.h"
 
+#include "opentelemetry/sdk/common/env_variables.h"
+
 OPENTELEMETRY_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
 namespace exporter
 {
 namespace otlp
 {
+
+inline const std::string GetOtlpGrpcDefaultEndpoint()
+{
+  constexpr char kOtlpGrpcEndpointEnv[]     = "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_ENDPOINT";
+  constexpr char kOtlpGrpcEndpointDefault[] = "localhost:4317";
+
+  auto endpoint = opentelemetry::sdk::common::GetEnvironmentVariable(kOtlpGrpcEndpointEnv);
+  return endpoint.size() ? endpoint : kOtlpGrpcEndpointDefault;
+}
+
+inline const bool GetOtlpGrpcDefaultIsSslEnable()
+{
+  constexpr char kOtlpGrpcIsSslEnableEnv[] = "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_SSL_ENABLE";
+  auto ssl_enable = opentelemetry::sdk::common::GetEnvironmentVariable(kOtlpGrpcIsSslEnableEnv);
+  if (ssl_enable == "True" || ssl_enable == "TRUE" || ssl_enable == "true" || ssl_enable == "1")
+  {
+    return true;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
+inline const std::string GetOtlpGrpcDefaultSslCertificate()
+{
+  constexpr char kOtlpGrpcSslCertificate[] = "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_SSL_CERTIFICATE";
+  auto ssl_cert = opentelemetry::sdk::common::GetEnvironmentVariable(kOtlpGrpcSslCertificate);
+  return ssl_cert.size() ? ssl_cert : "";
+}
+
 /**
  * Struct to hold OTLP exporter options.
  */
 struct OtlpGrpcExporterOptions
 {
   // The endpoint to export to. By default the OpenTelemetry Collector's default endpoint.
-  std::string endpoint = "localhost:4317";
+  std::string endpoint = GetOtlpGrpcDefaultEndpoint();
   // By default when false, uses grpc::InsecureChannelCredentials(); If true,
   // uses ssl_credentials_cacert_path if non-empty, else uses ssl_credentials_cacert_as_string
-  bool use_ssl_credentials = false;
+  bool use_ssl_credentials = GetOtlpGrpcDefaultIsSslEnable();
   // ssl_credentials_cacert_path specifies path to .pem file to be used for SSL encryption.
   std::string ssl_credentials_cacert_path = "";
   // ssl_credentials_cacert_as_string in-memory string representation of .pem file to be used for
   // SSL encryption.
-  std::string ssl_credentials_cacert_as_string = "";
+  std::string ssl_credentials_cacert_as_string = GetOtlpGrpcDefaultSslCertificate();
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/exporters/otlp/test/otlp_grpc_exporter_test.cc b/exporters/otlp/test/otlp_grpc_exporter_test.cc
index f7e82e6a46..13acd5b9ce 100644
--- a/exporters/otlp/test/otlp_grpc_exporter_test.cc
+++ b/exporters/otlp/test/otlp_grpc_exporter_test.cc
@@ -129,6 +129,38 @@ TEST_F(OtlpGrpcExporterTestPeer, ConfigSslCredentialsTest)
   EXPECT_EQ(GetOptions(exporter).ssl_credentials_cacert_as_string, cacert_str);
   EXPECT_EQ(GetOptions(exporter).use_ssl_credentials, true);
 }
+
+#  ifndef NO_GETENV
+// Test exporter configuration options with use_ssl_credentials
+TEST_F(OtlpGrpcExporterTestPeer, ConfigFromEnv)
+{
+  const std::string cacert_str = "--begin and end fake cert--";
+  const std::string cacert_env = "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_SSL_CERTIFICATE=" + cacert_str;
+  putenv(const_cast<char *>(cacert_env.data()));
+  char ssl_enable_env[] = "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_SSL_ENABLE=True";
+  putenv(ssl_enable_env);
+  const std::string endpoint     = "http://localhost:9999";
+  const std::string endpoint_env = "OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_ENDPOINT=" + endpoint;
+  putenv(const_cast<char *>(endpoint_env.data()));
+
+  std::unique_ptr<OtlpGrpcExporter> exporter(new OtlpGrpcExporter());
+  EXPECT_EQ(GetOptions(exporter).ssl_credentials_cacert_as_string, cacert_str);
+  EXPECT_EQ(GetOptions(exporter).use_ssl_credentials, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ(GetOptions(exporter).endpoint, endpoint);
+#    if defined(_MSC_VER)
+  putenv("OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_ENDPOINT=");
+  putenv("OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_SSL_CERTIFICATE=");
+  putenv("OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_SSL_ENABLE=");
+
+#    else
+  unsetenv("OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_ENDPOINT");
+  unsetenv("OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_SSL_CERTIFICATE");
+  unsetenv("OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_GRPC_SSL_ENABLE");
+
+#    endif
+}
+#  endif
+
 }  // namespace otlp
 }  // namespace exporter
 OPENTELEMETRY_END_NAMESPACE
diff --git a/exporters/zipkin/include/opentelemetry/exporters/zipkin/zipkin_exporter.h b/exporters/zipkin/include/opentelemetry/exporters/zipkin/zipkin_exporter.h
index 7e9321435c..ec3f562b19 100644
--- a/exporters/zipkin/include/opentelemetry/exporters/zipkin/zipkin_exporter.h
+++ b/exporters/zipkin/include/opentelemetry/exporters/zipkin/zipkin_exporter.h
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 #include "opentelemetry/ext/http/client/http_client_factory.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/ext/http/common/url_parser.h"
+#include "opentelemetry/sdk/common/env_variables.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/exporter.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/span_data.h"
 
@@ -21,23 +22,9 @@ inline const std::string GetDefaultZipkinEndpoint()
   const char *otel_exporter_zipkin_endpoint_env = "OTEL_EXPORTER_ZIPKIN_ENDPOINT";
   const char *kZipkinEndpointDefault            = "http://localhost:9411/api/v2/spans";
 
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
-  // avoid calling std::getenv which is deprecated in MSVC.
-  size_t required_size = 0;
-  getenv_s(&required_size, nullptr, 0, otel_exporter_zipkin_endpoint_env);
-  const char *endpoint_from_env = nullptr;
-  std::unique_ptr<char> endpoint_buffer;
-  if (required_size > 0)
-  {
-    endpoint_buffer = std::unique_ptr<char>{new char[required_size]};
-    getenv_s(&required_size, endpoint_buffer.get(), required_size,
-             otel_exporter_zipkin_endpoint_env);
-    endpoint_from_env = endpoint_buffer.get();
-  }
-#else
-  auto endpoint_from_env = std::getenv(otel_exporter_zipkin_endpoint_env);
-#endif
-  return std::string{endpoint_from_env ? endpoint_from_env : kZipkinEndpointDefault};
+  auto endpoint =
+      opentelemetry::sdk::common::GetEnvironmentVariable(otel_exporter_zipkin_endpoint_env);
+  return endpoint.size() ? endpoint : kZipkinEndpointDefault;
 }
 
 enum class TransportFormat
diff --git a/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/common/env_variables.h b/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/common/env_variables.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..63d16d12b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/common/env_variables.h
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+// Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <string>
+#include "opentelemetry/version.h"
+
+OPENTELEMETRY_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
+namespace sdk
+{
+namespace common
+{
+
+// Returns the env variable set.
+inline const std::string GetEnvironmentVariable(const char *env_var_name)
+{
+  const char *endpoint_from_env = nullptr;
+
+#ifndef NO_GETENV
+#  if defined(_MSC_VER)
+  // avoid calling std::getenv which is deprecated in MSVC.
+  size_t required_size = 0;
+  getenv_s(&required_size, nullptr, 0, env_var_name);
+  std::unique_ptr<char> endpoint_buffer;
+  if (required_size > 0)
+  {
+    endpoint_buffer = std::unique_ptr<char>{new char[required_size]};
+    getenv_s(&required_size, endpoint_buffer.get(), required_size, env_var_name);
+    endpoint_from_env = endpoint_buffer.get();
+  }
+#  else
+  endpoint_from_env = std::getenv(env_var_name);
+#  endif
+#endif
+  return endpoint_from_env == nullptr ? std::string() : endpoint_from_env;
+}
+}  // namespace common
+}  // namespace sdk
+OPENTELEMETRY_END_NAMESPACE
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sdk/src/resource/resource_detector.cc b/sdk/src/resource/resource_detector.cc
index 586de79738..c60056539b 100644
--- a/sdk/src/resource/resource_detector.cc
+++ b/sdk/src/resource/resource_detector.cc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/resource/resource_detector.h"
-#include <cstdlib>
+#include "opentelemetry/sdk/common/env_variables.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/resource/resource.h"
 
 OPENTELEMETRY_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
@@ -15,20 +15,12 @@ const char *OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES = "OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES";
 
 Resource OTELResourceDetector::Detect() noexcept
 {
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
-  size_t required_size = 0;
-  getenv_s(&required_size, nullptr, 0, OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES);
-  if (required_size == 0)
-    return Resource();
-  std::unique_ptr<char> attributes_buffer{new char[required_size]};
-  getenv_s(&required_size, attributes_buffer.get(), required_size, OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES);
-  char *attributes_str = attributes_buffer.get();
-#else
-  char *attributes_str = std::getenv(OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES);
-  if (attributes_str == nullptr)
+  auto attributes_str =
+      opentelemetry::sdk::common::GetEnvironmentVariable(OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES);
+  if (attributes_str.size() == 0)
+  {
     return Resource();
-#endif
-
+  }
   ResourceAttributes attributes;
   std::istringstream iss(attributes_str);
   std::string token;
diff --git a/sdk/test/resource/resource_test.cc b/sdk/test/resource/resource_test.cc
index 0c1a17d5e3..f426c23fe3 100644
--- a/sdk/test/resource/resource_test.cc
+++ b/sdk/test/resource/resource_test.cc
@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ TEST(ResourceTest, MergeEmptyString)
   EXPECT_EQ(received_attributes.size(), expected_attributes.size());
 }
 
+#ifndef NO_GETENV
 TEST(ResourceTest, OtelResourceDetector)
 {
   std::map<std::string, std::string> expected_attributes = {{"k", "v"}};
@@ -175,21 +176,21 @@ TEST(ResourceTest, OtelResourceDetector)
     }
   }
   EXPECT_EQ(received_attributes.size(), expected_attributes.size());
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
+#  if defined(_MSC_VER)
   putenv("OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=");
-#else
+#  else
   unsetenv("OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES");
-#endif
+#  endif
 }
 
 TEST(ResourceTest, OtelResourceDetectorEmptyEnv)
 {
   std::map<std::string, std::string> expected_attributes = {};
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
+#  if defined(_MSC_VER)
   putenv("OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=");
-#else
+#  else
   unsetenv("OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES");
-#endif
+#  endif
   OTELResourceDetector detector;
   auto resource            = detector.Detect();
   auto received_attributes = resource.GetAttributes();
@@ -204,3 +205,4 @@ TEST(ResourceTest, OtelResourceDetectorEmptyEnv)
   }
   EXPECT_EQ(received_attributes.size(), expected_attributes.size());
 }
+#endif