Spiking energy prices are causing havoc, but with the right investment, this disruptive time could have a silver lining as we wean ourselves off fossil fuels and liberate budget for better things

The cost of living crisis is a huge topic for debate, as the war in Ukraine and largely unchecked profiteering by energy companies collides with our dependence on fossil fuels to create a perfect storm.

We debate the challenges which lie ahead for the sector in our thought leadership feature on page 42, asking operators how their members are responding when it comes to the value they place on their health club membership.

The mood is one of cautious optimism, as it seems so far that if reductions in household budgets are needed, most people are finding other things to cut and hanging on to their gym membership.

We also look at ways in which operators could share the pain with customers, with insights into new pricing research by Leisure-net (page 52), which identifies which groups of members value their health club to the point where they would pay more for their membership.

As an optimist, I hope this energy price-shock will give those who haven’t already made the switch the impetus to move to renewables with all possible haste and also find operational ways to reduce energy usage.

However painful the next few years are as we make the transition, hopefully in years to come we’ll look back and recognise this as the turning point in the race to stop the planet from turning into a barren desert.

And let’s face it, not enough people or businesses would have ever changed to renewables or reduced their carbon-based energy use without a massive financial driver to do so – and high energy prices are now making it commercially logical to invest in alternatives to carbon fuels.

Governments around the world are bracing to intervene and support consumers and businesses with financial aid to offset energy price increases, but it’s vital we also address the underlying issue and that governments also invest in helping the transition to renewables, so we’re putting enduring solutions in place and not just creating a dependence on subsidies.

The exciting opportunity for the health and fitness industry lies in the thought that – with the right technology – we’re moving to a time when energy can effectively be free and a large proportion of the budget being burned on fossil fuels can be deployed in more positive ways to support customers, grow our businesses and make a greater impact on the health of the world.

Oil, gas and coal are such precious materials with so many critical applications in areas such as medicine and that we will look back in disbelief at the thought that we ever burned them as fuel.