Thinking about solar panels for your Harrison business, or researching green building codes in Rye Brook? Westchester County just launched a tool that puts the answer a search away instead of a phone call to every neighboring town.

The county's new Green Initiatives Repository, launched Sunday, catalogs roughly 70 environmental programs from 35 municipalities, including both Harrison and Rye Brook. It's free, searchable, and built specifically so towns — and the businesses operating in them — don't have to start from zero.

"Communities shouldn't have to start from scratch when developing environmental initiatives," County Executive Ken Jenkins said. "By bringing together successful programs from across the County, we're making it easier for municipalities to learn from one another and accelerate climate action."

The repository, built with The Climate Reality Project's Westchester chapter, organizes programs into 11 categories — several with real relevance to local business owners and developers, including building and zoning codes, energy efficiency, electric transportation, solar, and workforce development. Every listing includes a direct contact, so a Harrison business owner looking into solar or a Rye Brook developer researching green codes can reach out to whichever municipality already has that program running. Peter L. McCartt, the county's sustainability director, said it offers "real-world examples and direct connections to the communities leading those efforts." The county plans to update it twice a year.

The City of Rye doesn't appear among the 35 municipalities currently in the directory, but it's chasing its own sustainability milestone — a 2025 grant to assess its natural resources as it works toward Silver Certification in New York's Climate Smart Communities program, the state's highest tier. Neighboring Mamaroneck has already hit Silver status, ranking sixth out of 1,700 communities statewide.

The repository is free and searchable by municipality or category.