Top bankers may have got used to their pay and bonuses coming under scrutiny, but now financiers gathering for the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting are having their tailpipes checked.
Organisers of the annual meeting, taking place this week in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, have apparently imposed emissions limits on the limousines transporting delegates between events.
Under the rules, only vehicles that emit 230 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometre or less and whose fuel consumption is better than roughly 26 miles per gallon are being permitted to park in special secure areas.
And for delegates who are game for going one step further than downsizing their personal motor, the WEF says that it is laying on extra shuttle buses around the resort.
However, VIPs such as national leaders can apparently claim diplomatic immunity, and environmentalists have been quick to slam the measures, pointing out that they mean little in comparison to emissions from the global flights bringing bankers into nearby Zurich airport - not to mention helicopter jaunts from the airport to the resort itself.
Oxfam's Rob Bailey told the AFP news agency, "If you try to imagine the overall carbon footprint of the meeting, you will see that those restrictions on cars are probably going to be just a rounding value."
But a spokesperson for the WEF defended the move, saying that a lot of people had already downsized - with distinctly un-ambassadorial rides cropping up among the 250 vehicles which had so far visited the forum.
Quoted in The Times he added: "Last year we had a lot of SUVs turn up, but this year we've already seen a lot of hybrid cars, vehicles with smaller engines and people sharing minibuses."
