Abstract: The article analyzes and systematizes the cases of using the concept of "green economy" in strategic planning documents at the federal and regional levels. The basis for understanding the "green" economy in Russian regulatory legal acts, which include strategic planning documents, are international-level agreements. Thematic reports of official international organizations are also of some importance. The main characteristics of the "green" economy made at the international level are emphasized: environmental taxation, energy efficiency improvement, reduction of consumption of natural resources, reduction of waste, use of renewable energy sources, development of a low-carbon economy, etc. The general context of understanding the "green" economy at the international level is also important. It is connected both with the concept of sustainable development and with the realization of the task of poverty eradication. In other words, the "green" economy should have a wide range of applications and involves a number of its manifestations. According to the Final Document of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the participating countries of the Conference only identified some contexts for understanding the "green" economy, and also formulated the main results to be obtained when implementing the tools of the "green" economy. It is established that the mention of the "green" economy in strategic planning documents occurs in two main aspects: firstly, as a modern attribute of regulation of environmental and natural resource activities, and exclusively in a positive sense; secondly, as a challenge and even a threat to the implementation of certain types of activities. When stating such opposite assessments of the importance of the development of the "green" economy for the Russian Federation, it is necessary to endow the concept of "green economy" with legally significant characteristics, signs and criteria. The general framework of such a definition is laid down at the level of international legal regulation, while specific directions should depend on the needs and conditions of the economy, social sphere and the state of the environment in the Russian Federation.