In this brief we describe a pathway for operationalizing Climate Appropriate Portfolios of Tree Diversity. These portfolios of tree species for planting are necessary to respond to climate change along with other challenges that tree planting helps address. We describe what CAPTD consist of, and we outline different possible steps in their definition and implementation, although there is no ‘onesize-fits-all’ approach. There are seven steps in the pathway to operationalization that we present here: 1, to identify priority areas for tree planting; 2, to check tree species distributions (what can be planted where); 3, to consider planters’ needs (what should be planted to meet these needs); 4, to check for existing adapted tree seed and seedling sources and their suppliers; 5, to invest in expanding tree seed and seedling systems; 6, to provide support to properly plant and manage selected trees species; and 7, to monitor progress and provide feedback in order to refine portfolio definition and implementation. Through adopting tools and approaches such as those we outline here, climate change mitigation and adaptation can be properly factored into tree planting, along with broader tree-planting goals.