We derive lessons for green public procurement (GPP) by comparing it with the experiences of strategic procurement experiences in other domains. These show that successful strategic procurement is neither simple nor automatic but requires alignment of green policy visions between payers, purchasers and producers and the need for procurement frameworks which allow this alignment to persist. Studies of domains such as military procurement show that attaining and maintaining this alignment longitudinally is especially difficult as priorities and governments change over time potentially ‘de-aligning’ any initial agreement on the merits of the initiatives behind ‘strategic procurement’. While less acute for short-term procurement, this problem is substantial for many long-term green procurement projects and can lead to government attempts to downplay such initiatives and seek less complex short-term purchases where alignment is easier to maintain.