diff --git a/swh/journal/cli.py b/swh/journal/cli.py
--- a/swh/journal/cli.py
+++ b/swh/journal/cli.py
@@ -184,7 +184,8 @@
     and retrieving objects from an existing source ObjStorage.
 
     There can be several 'replayers' filling a given ObjStorage as long as they
-    use the same `group-id`.
+    use the same `group-id`. You can use the `KAFKA_GROUP_INSTANCE_ID`
+    environment variable to use KIP-345 static group membership.
 
     This service retrieves object ids to copy from the 'content' topic. It will
     only copy object's content if the object's description in the kafka
diff --git a/swh/journal/client.py b/swh/journal/client.py
--- a/swh/journal/client.py
+++ b/swh/journal/client.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 from collections import defaultdict
 import logging
+import os
 import time
 
 from confluent_kafka import Consumer, KafkaException, KafkaError
@@ -101,6 +102,10 @@
         if debug_logging and 'debug' not in kwargs:
             kwargs['debug'] = 'consumer'
 
+        group_instance_id = os.environ.get('KAFKA_GROUP_INSTANCE_ID')
+        if group_instance_id:
+            kwargs['group.instance.id'] = group_instance_id
+
         consumer_settings = {
             **kwargs,
             'bootstrap.servers': ','.join(brokers),