Markets often fail to generate sufficient incentives for corporations to invest in environmentally responsible practices at socially optimal levels. Green public procurement has emerged as a key policy tool for encouraging government suppliers to adopt green innovations. This study presents a large-scale, multi-country analysis of supplier firms engaged in green procurement contracts, examining their characteristics and environmental outcomes. In our determinant analyses, we find that politically connected firms, those with higher CO2 emissions, and firms with prior procurement experience are more likely to secure green contracts (and obtain higher-value contracts). Cross-sectional analyses corroborate our findings and indicate predictable heterogeneity in in how these factors affect green contract allocation. In our consequences analyses, we show that participation in such contracts is associated with subsequent CO2 reductions, some improvement in product sustainability awareness, and greater disengagement from non-compliant suppliers. A difference-indifferences analysis corroborates these findings. Overall, the evidence highlights green procurement contracts as an effective environmental policy instrument for advancing sustainable development, with important socioeconomic relevance and clear policy implications.