diff --git a/Contribute.md b/Contribute.md
index 84e1b2f64..55d2b7e44 100644
--- a/Contribute.md
+++ b/Contribute.md
@@ -17,11 +17,25 @@ required:
    ![Benchmarks Directory Structure](benchmarks_directory_structure.png)
 
 2. Next, in the leaf folder that was created in the previous step, you
-   will need to create a `model_init.py` file:
+   will need to create `config.json` and `model_init.py` files:
 
-   ![Add model init](add_model_init.png)
+   ![Add model init](add_model_init_and_config.png)
 
-   This file is used to initialize the best known configuration for the
+    The `config.json` file contains the best known KMP environment variable
+    settings to get optimal performance for the model. Below default settings are recommended for most of
+    the models in Model Zoo.
+
+    ```
+    {
+        "optimization_parameters": {
+            "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+            "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+            "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+        }
+    }
+    ```
+
+   The `model_init.py` file is used to initialize the best known configuration for the
    model, and then start executing inference or training. When the
    [launch script](/docs/general/tensorflow/LaunchBenchmark.md) is run,
    it will look for the appropriate `model_init.py` file to use
@@ -33,7 +47,7 @@ required:
    [base model init class](/benchmarks/common/base_model_init.py) that
    includes functions for doing common tasks such as setting up the best
    known environment variables (like `KMP_BLOCKTIME`, `KMP_SETTINGS`,
-   `KMP_AFFINITY`, and `OMP_NUM_THREADS`), num intra threads, and num
+   `KMP_AFFINITY` by loading **config.json** and `OMP_NUM_THREADS`), num intra threads, and num
    inter threads. The `model_init.py` file also sets up the string that
    will ultimately be used to run inference or model training, which
    normally includes the use of `numactl` and sending all of the
@@ -93,7 +107,7 @@ Optional step:
   the original repository, then it can be added to the
   [models](/models) directory in the zoo repo. As with the first step
   in the previous section, the directory structure should be setup like:
-  `/models/<use case>/<framework>/<model name>/<mode>/<precision>`:
+  `/models/<use case>/<framework>/<model name>/<mode>/<precision>`.
 
   ![Models Directory Structure](models_directory_structure.png)
 
diff --git a/add_model_init.png b/add_model_init.png
deleted file mode 100644
index 6bacd1bb6..000000000
Binary files a/add_model_init.png and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/add_model_init_and_config.png b/add_model_init_and_config.png
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ef9b88290
Binary files /dev/null and b/add_model_init_and_config.png differ
diff --git a/add_readme.png b/add_readme.png
index 4899a9fa3..f28783bad 100644
Binary files a/add_readme.png and b/add_readme.png differ
diff --git a/benchmarks/adversarial_networks/tensorflow/dcgan/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/adversarial_networks/tensorflow/dcgan/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dfac18793
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/adversarial_networks/tensorflow/dcgan/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1,
+        "KMP_HW_SUBSET": "1T"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/adversarial_networks/tensorflow/dcgan/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/adversarial_networks/tensorflow/dcgan/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index aed323e94..8f4602c2c 100644
--- a/benchmarks/adversarial_networks/tensorflow/dcgan/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/adversarial_networks/tensorflow/dcgan/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
-        set_env_var("KMP_HW_SUBSET", "1T")
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         benchmark_script = os.path.join(
             self.args.intelai_models, args.mode, args.precision,
diff --git a/benchmarks/common/base_model_init.py b/benchmarks/common/base_model_init.py
index 6294190d8..9a25ca92a 100644
--- a/benchmarks/common/base_model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/common/base_model_init.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0
 #
 
+import json
 import os
 
 
@@ -135,14 +136,28 @@ def set_num_inter_intra_threads(self, num_inter_threads=None, num_intra_threads=
             print("num_inter_threads: {}\nnum_intra_threads: {}".format(
                 self.args.num_inter_threads, self.args.num_intra_threads))
 
-    def set_kmp_vars(self, kmp_settings="1", kmp_blocktime="1", kmp_affinity="granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0"):
+    def set_kmp_vars(self, config_file_path, kmp_settings=None, kmp_blocktime=None, kmp_affinity=None):
         """
         Sets KMP_* environment variables to the specified value, if the environment variable has not already been set.
-        The default values for this function's args are the most common values that we have seen in the model zoo.
+        The default values in the json file are the best known settings for the model.
         """
+        if os.path.exists(config_file_path):
+            with open(config_file_path, 'r') as config:
+                config_object = json.load(config)
+
+            # First sets default from config file
+            for param in config_object.keys():
+                for env in config_object[param].keys():
+                    set_env_var(env, config_object[param][env])
+
+        else:
+            print("Warning: File {} does not exist and \
+            cannot be used to set KMP environment variables".format(config_file_path))
+
+        # Override user provided envs
         if kmp_settings:
-            set_env_var("KMP_SETTINGS", kmp_settings)
+            set_env_var("KMP_SETTINGS", kmp_settings, overwrite_existing=True)
         if kmp_blocktime:
-            set_env_var("KMP_BLOCKTIME", kmp_blocktime)
+            set_env_var("KMP_BLOCKTIME", kmp_blocktime, overwrite_existing=True)
         if kmp_affinity:
-            set_env_var("KMP_AFFINITY", kmp_affinity)
+            set_env_var("KMP_AFFINITY", kmp_affinity, overwrite_existing=True)
diff --git a/benchmarks/content_creation/tensorflow/draw/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/content_creation/tensorflow/draw/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dfac18793
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/content_creation/tensorflow/draw/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1,
+        "KMP_HW_SUBSET": "1T"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/content_creation/tensorflow/draw/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/content_creation/tensorflow/draw/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 390bcae82..08c145bca 100644
--- a/benchmarks/content_creation/tensorflow/draw/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/content_creation/tensorflow/draw/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 import os
 import sys
 from common.base_model_init import BaseModelInitializer
-from common.base_model_init import set_env_var
 
 
 class ModelInitializer(BaseModelInitializer):
@@ -32,8 +31,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         super(ModelInitializer, self).__init__(args, custom_args, platform_util)
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
-        set_env_var("KMP_HW_SUBSET", "1T")
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         if self.args.accuracy_only:
             print("Accuracy testing for DRAW inference is not supported yet.")
diff --git a/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/facenet/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/facenet/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/facenet/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/facenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/facenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 9bd9c6243..bf4b8132c 100644
--- a/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/facenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/facenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
             self.python_exe + " "
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         pairs_file = os.path.join(self.args.model_source_dir,
                                   "data/pairs.txt")
diff --git a/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/mtcc/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/mtcc/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/mtcc/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/mtcc/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/mtcc/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 34409b702..4ef889b36 100644
--- a/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/mtcc/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/face_detection_and_alignment/tensorflow/mtcc/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args, platform_util=None):
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", self.args.num_intra_threads)
 
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 064bf7848..641821520 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         self.cmd = self.get_numactl_command(self.args.socket_id) + self.python_exe + " "
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # use default batch size if -1
         if self.args.batch_size == -1:
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/int8/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/int8/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/int8/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/int8/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/int8/model_init.py
index f2e2e1469..0d7dda4db 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/int8/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inception_resnet_v2/inference/int8/model_init.py
@@ -31,7 +31,11 @@ class ModelInitializer(BaseModelInitializer):
 
     def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         super(ModelInitializer, self).__init__(args, custom_args, platform_util)
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
+
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
+
         self.cmd = self.get_numactl_command(self.args.socket_id) + "{} ".format(self.python_exe)
 
         # use default batch size if -1
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index dd504259e..53c2643bd 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -60,8 +60,10 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
 
         self.args = arg_parser.parse_args(self.custom_args, namespace=self.args)
 
-        # Use default KMP variable values, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path, kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
+
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", self.args.num_intra_threads)
 
         benchmark_script = os.path.join(
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/int8/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/int8/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/int8/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/int8/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/int8/model_init.py
index 6d586ea80..bd4794638 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/int8/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv3/inference/int8/model_init.py
@@ -60,8 +60,9 @@ def parse_args(self):
 
         self.args = parser.parse_args(self.custom_args,
                                       namespace=self.args)
-        # Use default KMP variable values, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path, kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
 
     def run_benchmark(self):
         benchmark_script = os.path.join(self.args.intelai_models,
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv4/inference/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv4/inference/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f1228ba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv4/inference/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv4/inference/inceptionv4_model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv4/inference/inceptionv4_model_init.py
index c7d546477..d4294a179 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv4/inference/inceptionv4_model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/inceptionv4/inference/inceptionv4_model_init.py
@@ -38,7 +38,11 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         # Environment variables
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", platform_util.num_cores_per_socket
                     if self.args.num_cores == -1 else self.args.num_cores)
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime="0")
+
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
+
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads(num_inter_threads=platform_util.num_threads_per_core,
                                          num_intra_threads=platform_util.num_cores_per_socket)
 
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f0b327528
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index e75c72194..d4e3ca5d7 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -33,8 +33,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         if self.args.batch_size == -1:
             self.args.batch_size = 128
 
-        # Set KMP env vars (except KMP_SETTINGS is not set)
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_settings=None)
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # set num_inter_threads and num_intra_threads (override inter threads to 2)
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads(num_inter_threads=2)
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/int8/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/int8/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/int8/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/int8/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/int8/model_init.py
index 0823604c0..6f22fd12a 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/int8/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/mobilenet_v1/inference/int8/model_init.py
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         self.cmd = self.get_numactl_command(self.args.socket_id) + "python "
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # Set the num_inter_threads and num_intra_threads
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 5e35e462b..43f862159 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -60,8 +60,10 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
 
         self.args = arg_parser.parse_args(self.custom_args, namespace=self.args)
 
-        # Use default KMP variable values, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path, kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
+
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", self.args.num_intra_threads)
 
         benchmark_script = os.path.join(
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/int8/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/int8/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f1228ba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/int8/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/int8/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/int8/model_init.py
index 5e32d3e92..4bd21a12e 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/int8/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet101/inference/int8/model_init.py
@@ -41,8 +41,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS",
                     platform_util.num_cores_per_socket if args.num_cores == -1 else args.num_cores)
 
-        # Set KMP env vars, but override default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime="0")
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
     def parse_args(self):
         parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index a2e6be8a3..4c3dfbd1d 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -61,8 +61,10 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
 
         self.args = arg_parser.parse_args(self.custom_args, namespace=self.args)
 
-        # Use default KMP variable values, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path, kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
+
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", self.args.num_intra_threads)
 
         benchmark_script = os.path.join(
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/int8/config.json b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/int8/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/int8/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/int8/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/int8/model_init.py
index 07dfa5d2f..75e9db07c 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/int8/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_recognition/tensorflow/resnet50/inference/int8/model_init.py
@@ -65,8 +65,9 @@ def parse_args(self):
 
         self.args = parser.parse_args(self.custom_args,
                                       namespace=self.args)
-        # Use default KMP variable values, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set, but override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path, kmp_blocktime=str(self.args.kmp_blocktime))
 
     def run_benchmark_or_accuracy(self):
         cmd = os.path.join(
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/maskrcnn/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/maskrcnn/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..23d5de76e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/maskrcnn/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1,
+        "KMP_HW_SUBSET": "1T"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/maskrcnn/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/maskrcnn/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 1fe96fe2b..43f9cdacc 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/maskrcnn/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/maskrcnn/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_affinity="granularity=fine, compact, 1, 0")
-        set_env_var("KMP_HW_SUBSET", "1T")
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         benchmark_script = os.path.join(
             self.args.intelai_models, "coco.py")
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/unet/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/unet/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ca15cfe6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/unet/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine, compact",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/unet/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/unet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index cd4f5837d..d4998afae 100644
--- a/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/unet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/image_segmentation/tensorflow/unet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_affinity="granularity=fine, compact")
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # Get path to the inference script
         script_path = os.path.join(
diff --git a/benchmarks/language_modeling/tensorflow/lm-1b/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/language_modeling/tensorflow/lm-1b/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8ae78e72a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/language_modeling/tensorflow/lm-1b/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/language_modeling/tensorflow/lm-1b/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/language_modeling/tensorflow/lm-1b/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 77d903020..6a2b7244f 100644
--- a/benchmarks/language_modeling/tensorflow/lm-1b/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/language_modeling/tensorflow/lm-1b/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -35,8 +35,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args, platform_util=None):
 
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
 
-        # Set the KMP env vars
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime="0", kmp_affinity="granularity=fine,compact,1,0")
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", self.args.num_intra_threads)
 
diff --git a/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/gnmt/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/gnmt/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4d0e2acf5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/gnmt/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/gnmt/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/gnmt/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 61ef1bda6..a23403eb0 100644
--- a/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/gnmt/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/gnmt/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -37,8 +37,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
                         (str(self.args.num_cores - 1)) + " "
         self.cmd += "{} ".format(self.python_exe)
 
-        # Set the KMP env vars
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_affinity="granularity=fine,compact,1,0")
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # use default batch size if -1
         if self.args.batch_size == -1:
diff --git a/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_language/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_language/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8ae78e72a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_language/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_language/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_language/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 20790b541..4e1519e03 100644
--- a/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_language/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_language/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -37,8 +37,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args, platform_util=None):
 
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
 
-        # Set the KMP env vars
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime="0", kmp_affinity="granularity=fine,compact,1,0")
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         TEMP_DIR = str(self.args.model_source_dir) + "/out_dir"
         if os.path.exists(TEMP_DIR):
diff --git a/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_lt_official/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_lt_official/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8ae78e72a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_lt_official/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_lt_official/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_lt_official/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index b598191f0..00f8b9f3f 100644
--- a/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_lt_official/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/language_translation/tensorflow/transformer_lt_official/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -36,8 +36,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args, platform_util=None):
 
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
 
-        # Set the KMP env vars
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime="0", kmp_affinity="granularity=fine,compact,1,0")
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         MODEL_EXEC_DIR = str(self.args.model_source_dir) + "/official/transformer/"
 
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 3e0167f75..a605cc8e3 100644
--- a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args, platform_util=None):
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", self.args.num_intra_threads)
 
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/int8/config.json b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/int8/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f1228ba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/int8/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/int8/model_init.py b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/int8/model_init.py
index 749026f3c..705ef72c1 100644
--- a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/int8/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/faster_rcnn/inference/int8/model_init.py
@@ -41,8 +41,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
             self.args.intelai_models, self.args.mode, self.args.precision,
             self.RFCN_ACCURACY_SCRIPT)
 
-        # Set KMP env vars, except override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime="0")
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         self.validate_args()
 
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d7f51a4c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 712da5777..a4ab51dfa 100644
--- a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -45,8 +45,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args, platform_util):
             self.args.intelai_models, self.args.mode,
             self.args.precision, "eval.py")
 
-        # Set KMP env vars, except override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME and KMP_AFFINITY values
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime="0", kmp_affinity=None)
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         self.run_inference_sanity_checks(self.args, self.custom_args)
         self.parse_custom_args()
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/int8/config.json b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/int8/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f1228ba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/int8/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/int8/model_init.py b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/int8/model_init.py
index eec69455d..d6cb2cc97 100755
--- a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/int8/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/rfcn/inference/int8/model_init.py
@@ -54,8 +54,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
 
         self.parse_args()
 
-        # Set KMP env vars with defaults, except for KMP_BLOCKTIME
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime=0)
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # Set num_inter_threads and num_intra_threads
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f1228ba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 379e47c67..585d3ed0e 100644
--- a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -44,8 +44,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args, platform_util):
         self.run_inference_sanity_checks(self.args, self.custom_args)
         self.research_dir = os.path.join(args.model_source_dir, "research")
 
-        # Set KMP env vars, except override the default KMP_BLOCKTIME value
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime="0")
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # set num_inter_threads and num_intra_threads (override inter threads to 2)
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads(num_inter_threads=2)
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/int8/config.json b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/int8/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f1228ba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/int8/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/int8/model_init.py b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/int8/model_init.py
index 5959abaf2..57114447a 100644
--- a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/int8/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-mobilenet/inference/int8/model_init.py
@@ -31,7 +31,10 @@ class ModelInitializer(BaseModelInitializer):
 
     def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         super(ModelInitializer, self).__init__(args, custom_args, platform_util)
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_blocktime="0")
+
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # set num_inter_threads and num_intra_threads (override inter threads to 2)
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads(num_inter_threads=2)
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-resnet34/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-resnet34/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-resnet34/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-resnet34/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-resnet34/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 0e6657a11..1ad534ed9 100644
--- a/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-resnet34/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/object_detection/tensorflow/ssd-resnet34/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -42,7 +42,11 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args, platform_util):
         super(ModelInitializer, self).__init__(args, custom_args, platform_util)
 
         self.run_inference_sanity_checks(self.args, self.custom_args)
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
+
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
+
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
 
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", self.args.num_intra_threads)
diff --git a/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/ncf/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/ncf/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..273b45b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/ncf/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/ncf/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/ncf/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 1b6eb1eda..1704839cb 100644
--- a/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/ncf/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/ncf/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
             self.args.batch_size = 256
 
         # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
-        self.set_kmp_vars()
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # set num_inter_threads and num_intra_threads
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads()
diff --git a/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4efe60b15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "noverbose,warnings,respect,granularity=core,none",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 8f3e15359..6655dce85 100755
--- a/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -36,9 +36,10 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         # Set the num_inter_threads and num_intra_threads
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads(num_inter_threads=platform_util.num_cores_per_socket,
                                          num_intra_threads=1)
-        # Use default KMP AFFINITY values, override KMP_BLOCKTIME & enable KMP SETTINGS
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_settings="1", kmp_blocktime="0",
-                          kmp_affinity="noverbose,warnings,respect,granularity=core,none")
+
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # Set env vars, if they haven't already been set
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", self.args.num_intra_threads)
diff --git a/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/int8/config.json b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/int8/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4efe60b15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/int8/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "noverbose,warnings,respect,granularity=core,none",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 0,
+        "KMP_SETTINGS": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/int8/model_init.py b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/int8/model_init.py
index 2bd55b5a5..9fdef4537 100755
--- a/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/int8/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/recommendation/tensorflow/wide_deep_large_ds/inference/int8/model_init.py
@@ -36,9 +36,10 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args=[], platform_util=None):
         # Set the num_inter_threads and num_intra_threads
         self.set_num_inter_intra_threads(num_inter_threads=platform_util.num_cores_per_socket,
                                          num_intra_threads=1)
-        # Use default KMP AFFINITY values, override KMP_BLOCKTIME & enable KMP SETTINGS
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_settings="1", kmp_blocktime="0",
-                          kmp_affinity="noverbose,warnings,respect,granularity=core,none")
+
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         # Set env vars, if they haven't already been set
         set_env_var("OMP_NUM_THREADS", self.args.num_intra_threads)
diff --git a/benchmarks/text_to_speech/tensorflow/wavenet/inference/fp32/config.json b/benchmarks/text_to_speech/tensorflow/wavenet/inference/fp32/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f0b327528
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/text_to_speech/tensorflow/wavenet/inference/fp32/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+    "optimization_parameters": {
+        "KMP_AFFINITY": "granularity=fine,verbose,compact,1,0",
+        "KMP_BLOCKTIME": 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/benchmarks/text_to_speech/tensorflow/wavenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py b/benchmarks/text_to_speech/tensorflow/wavenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
index 91ebe227c..1756e33ae 100644
--- a/benchmarks/text_to_speech/tensorflow/wavenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
+++ b/benchmarks/text_to_speech/tensorflow/wavenet/inference/fp32/model_init.py
@@ -32,8 +32,9 @@ def __init__(self, args, custom_args, platform_util):
         self.command = ""
         command_prefix = "{} generate.py".format(self.python_exe)
 
-        # Set default KMP env vars, except for KMP_SETTINGS
-        self.set_kmp_vars(kmp_settings=None)
+        # Set KMP env vars, if they haven't already been set
+        config_file_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "config.json")
+        self.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
 
         self.parse_custom_args()
         # Set the num_inter_threads and num_intra_threads (override inter threads to 1)
diff --git a/tests/unit/common/test_base_model_init.py b/tests/unit/common/test_base_model_init.py
index 43f3076f1..979a6ac4c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/common/test_base_model_init.py
+++ b/tests/unit/common/test_base_model_init.py
@@ -17,8 +17,22 @@
 #
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0
 #
-
+from contextlib import contextmanager
 import os
+import pytest
+import sys
+import tempfile
+
+try:
+    # python 2
+    from cStringIO import StringIO
+except ImportError:
+    # python 3
+    # only supports unicode so can't be used in python 2 for sys.stdout
+    # because (from `print` documentation)
+    # "All non-keyword arguments are converted to strings like str() does"
+    from io import StringIO
+
 
 from mock import MagicMock, patch
 
@@ -26,6 +40,22 @@
 from benchmarks.common.base_model_init import set_env_var
 
 
+@contextmanager
+def catch_stdout():
+    _stdout = sys.stdout
+    sys.stdout = caught_output = StringIO()
+    try:
+        yield caught_output
+    finally:
+        sys.stdout = _stdout
+        caught_output.close()
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def mock_json(patch):
+    return patch('json')
+
+
 # Example args and output strings for testing mocks
 test_model_name = "resnet50"
 test_framework = "tensorflow"
@@ -109,3 +139,34 @@ def test_env_var_not_already_set():
     finally:
         if os.environ.get(env_var):
             del os.environ[env_var]
+
+
+def test_set_kmp_vars_config_json_does_not_exists():
+    """Test config.json does not exist"""
+    # Setup base model init with test settings
+    platform_util = MagicMock()
+    args = MagicMock(verbose=True, model_name=test_model_name)
+    os.environ["PYTHON_EXE"] = "python"
+    base_model_init = BaseModelInitializer(args, [], platform_util)
+
+    config_file_path = '/test/foo/config.json'
+
+    with catch_stdout() as caught_output:
+        base_model_init.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)
+        output = caught_output.getvalue()
+
+    assert "Warning: File {} does not exist and \
+            cannot be used to set KMP environment variables".format(config_file_path) == output.strip()
+
+
+def test_set_kmp_vars_config_json_exists(mock_json):
+    """Test config.json when exists"""
+    # Setup base model init with test settings
+    platform_util = MagicMock()
+    args = MagicMock(verbose=True, model_name=test_model_name)
+    os.environ["PYTHON_EXE"] = "python"
+    base_model_init = BaseModelInitializer(args, [], platform_util)
+
+    file_descriptor, config_file_path = tempfile.mkstemp(suffix=".json")
+
+    base_model_init.set_kmp_vars(config_file_path)